PBOC warns P2P businesses over fraud

China encourages the development of Internet finance, but it will firmly stand against fraud and financial crime in the form of innovative financial services, the central bank said in a statement released Thursday.

Internet finance companies including peer-to-peer lending (P2P) are not allowed to get involved in illegal fundraising or illegally accept public deposits, Liu Shiyu, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, was quoted as saying in the statement.

P2P companies cannot set up funding pools and engage in providing guarantee services and lending simultaneously, Liu said.