China will continue its national crackdown on invoice fraud in 2010, after 7,016 people linked to invoice fraud were seized by the police from January to October, Vice Minister of Public Security Liu Jinguo said here Tuesday.

In a teleconference of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Liu said close to 1,500 production sites making and selling fake invoices had been closed, and more than 91 million fake invoices confiscated in the first ten months of 2009.

He said the MPS would extend its campaign against fake invoices next year, in order to further root out criminal gangs making and selling fake invoices, and close more production sites for the illegal activities.

Fake invoice vendors are common in Chinese cities, where they offer receipts used for tax purposes. Such invoices could cause huge losses in tax revenues and could feed illegal activities, such as smuggling, money laundering and corruption, MPS spokesman Wu Heping said in October.