Indonesian authorities have arrested a Chinese man sought by Beijing for allegedly helping transfer and laundering almost US$18 million from a criminal online gambling group in China, officials said on Thursday.

Yan Zhenxing was detained on Monday by immigration officers at a cross-border ferry terminal on Batam island, next to Singapore.

Yuldi Yusman, the Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement, said Yan was arrested following an Interpol red notice for him. The notices request law enforcement agencies worldwide to detain or arrest a suspect wanted by a specific country.

Yusman said Yan, a Chinese national and permanent resident of Singapore, was arriving in Batam for holiday with his family when he was detained.

Indonesian authorities brought the suspect, wearing a detainee’s orange shirt and a facemask, to a news conference on Thursday in the capital of Jakarta. The suspect did not make any statements and was not asked any questions.

Yusman said that Yan was named as a suspect by police in China’s Inner Mongolia region who allege he was involved in transferring and laundering more than 130 million yuan (US$17.8 million) from a criminal online gambling group.

He said Yan was handed to Indonesia's National Central Bureau Interpol in Jakarta on Thursday and a decision to deport or to extradite him to China will take some time.

The arrest came just two months after immigration officers on the tourist island of Bali arrested a Chinese suspect sought by Beijing who allegedly helped to run investment scams that brought in over US$14 billion from clients in China. (AP)