BEIJING - China's foreign-exchange regulator pledged Tuesday that it will continue to guard against speculative money inflows in the second half of this year as illegal foreign exchange transactions rose in the first half.

In a statement posted on its website, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said it will continue to combat illegal cross-border money flows in the second half of the year in the face of complicated domestic and overseas economic situations.

The SAFE found 1,865 cases of illegal foreign exchange businesses in the first half of the year, up 26.2 percent from a year earlier, the statement said.

The money involved increased 26.9 percent year-on-year to more than $16 billion?from January to June, it said.

China's forex regulatory authorities imposed administrative fines of 260 million yuan ($40.7 million) in the first half of this year, exceeding the total of the whole of last year, according to the statement.