BEIJING - The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has meted out administrative penalties up to disqualification to several unscrupulous social groups, it said on Friday.

They include a foundation set up for offering assistance to seniors in extreme difficulties, which was found to have "operations exceeding the scope of non-profit activities and missions set out in its constitution" and accounting fraud.

Three other foundations were punished for violations including failing to submit annual work reports to regulators or failing to publicly disclose information, the MCA said, without detailing the penalties.

One business association and an art society also received "administrative punishment" for not accepting the annual examination on national-level social groups in 2013 and 2014.