National security police on Friday released four of five suspects arrested on allegations that they provided funds for people who were said to have endangered national security despite having left Hong Kong.

The four, who were arrested on Wednesday, were ordered to report back to the force in a month. The fifth suspect, who was arrested on Thursday, is still being detained.

Police earlier accused the suspects, aged 24 to 28, of conspiring to collude with foreign forces by running an online shopping platform on a phone app to earn money, to support overseas activities that endanger national security.

The force also alleged that they had published seditious articles on social media, and said the posts "provoked hatred towards the central authorities and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and advocated 'Hong Kong independence'".

It is understood that the arrestees are former members of the disbanded party, Demosisto, including its former chairman Ivan Lam and core members William Liu and Calvin Chu.

Earlier in the week, national security police issued arrest warrants for eight people, including another former Demosisito chairman Nathan Law, as well as former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok.

The force offered a HK$1 million reward for each of the wanted people, who are currently based overseas.