A Chinese pastor of a house church has been arrested, according to the Associated Press, during a crackdown on unregistered churches.
Pastor Xianfeng Edward Cui was arrested on charges of fraud on Friday 23 October on charges of fraud, the AP has been told by his wife Jin Young Gu.
The founder of the Beijing Jiaquan Church was first detained on Friday 4 September in a raid on his church, with around 100 police officers involved, Gu added.
An open prayer letter released to Radio Free Asia on Sunday 1 October recounted the raid.
It is said that members were ordered to tell officials their ID numbers, addresses and phone numbers as they were setting up for a 20th anniversary event.
Despite ongoing persecution of Christians, China could become the largest Christian nation in the world by 2030.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide have warned that "sinicisation" policies, a programme which is aiming to force religion to be closer to Communist Party policy, are being weaponised to restrict religious freedom.
Allegations of fraud are allegedly related to church member's offerings and the church being unregistered is likely linked to Cui's charges.
Korean citizen Gu has been unable to enter China since 2023 due to rejected visa applications.
The Associated Press did not receive comment from Beijing's Shijingshan District or the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently cracking down on control of religion as the Communist Party of China enforces their rule.
In October 2025, 30 leaders of Zion Church, one of the largest underground church networks, were arrested.
Founder of Zion Church Ezra Jin Mingri was arrested but later freed in July after a personal request for his release by President Donald Trump to President Xi.