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Crackdown on money laundering intensifies

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-15 20:37

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said Monday it has helped crack down on 172 money-laundering cases involving about 150 billion yuan ($22 billion) in the first 9 months of this year.

The number of cases doubled that of the same period last year, Tang Xu, head of the PBOC's anti-money laundering department, told the Outlook Oriental Weekly, a Xinhua News Agency-owned magazine.

In a sweeping anti-money laundering operation named "Tianwang" (Skynet in English) from September 2007 to October 2008, six major cases were found to be money laundering crimes. Only four cases were judged as money-laundering crimes from 1997 to 2007.

In another simultaneous nationwide operation combating money laundering, named "Leiting" (Thunderclap in English), local branches of the PBOC and foreign exchange administrations have helped public security departments uncover 45 cases related to underground private banks with an aggregate value of 105.31 billion yuan.

Tang said the PBOC's anti-money laundering monitoring scope has been expanded to include non-financial sectors besides the securities and insurance industries. Moreover, it keeps a close eye on new money laundering trends including terrorism financing, transnational remittance, and underground private banks.

China promulgated a new Anti-Money Laundering Law from Jan 1, 2007, which broadened the definition of money-laundering crimes to include corruption and bribe taking, violation of financial management regulations and financial fraud.

The PBOC is the nerve center of the anti-money laundering campaign. Its provincial branches are authorized to cooperate with the police to investigate suspect fund transfers of financial institutions.