India, Sept. 5 -- Chinese authorities have arrested and detained 52 Singaporeans over their alleged involvement in pyramid scheme-related activities, in what could be the largest detention of the city-state's citizens abroad to date, officials said on Friday.

The 52 Singaporeans were detained as part of a wider law enforcement operation in southern China's Guangxi province targeting suspected pyramid scheme-related activities and offences, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a joint statement.

A pyramid scheme is a business model in which participants make money primarily by recruiting new members, rather than through the sale of legitimate products or services to consumers.

Chinese au...