MOSCOW, March 26 - RAPSI. The police detained underground bankers suspected of laundering money for an organized criminal group, their annual turnover exceeded $3.07 billion, according to Interior Ministry's lieutenant-general Andrei Kemenev.

He reminded that a number of banks, including Fundservicevank, have been recently searched on suspicion of being involved in the case. According to the Interior Ministry, Artyom Sisakyan, who has already been arrested, headed the underground bankers.

It was established that the detained group was part of large criminal gang and was involved in an illegal banking activities acting for the ethnic groups operating in Russia.

The funds received from the illegal activity of the aforementioned groups were transferred on accounts of fly-by-night companies and were then transferred to Caucasus, Middle Asia and the Middle East, Kemenev said.

It became known that the gang was stopped in mid March. Three Moscow residents helped the interested people illegally cash out funds. They were paid 3.5 percent of the amounts. The criminals used the Moscow bank accounts of various commercial organizations. The firms actually carried out no financial activity and were fraudulently registered.

A preliminary analysis of the documents seized during an investigation into one of the banks concerned - Fundservicebank - demonstrated that the minimum turnover of each of the 50 firms was 1 billion rubles ($34.02 million).