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New role helps fight cash launderers
By Chuan Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-01-27 03:18
China's central bank said yesterday the nation has been accepted as an
observer at the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, a major
intergovernmental organization launched in 1989 by the Group-7 Summit.
Observer status marks another step by the nation to step up its international
co-operation in combating the threat of money laundering and the funding of
terrorism.
China is already playing an active role in promoting such co-operation among
members of the Euro-Asian Group on Combating Money-Laundry and Financing of
Terrorism, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said at the end of last
year.
China is a founding member of that group, established in October 2004. Other
members include Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Chinese authorities have been escalating their war on money laundering during
the past few years. Money laundering has been seen to be on the rise in China in
recent years as crimes such as smuggling and drug-trafficking produce growing
amounts of dirty money.
The amount of money laundered in the country is estimated at US$20 billion
every year. A special bureau has been set up under the central bank. Regulations
were also enacted in 2003, requiring banks to report large and suspicious
transactions.
The campaign has produced some initial results. The central bank spotted
suspicious transactions totalling 78 billion yuan (US$9.3 billion) in the first
nine months of last year, and transferred 900 cases to police for criminal
investigation, earlier reports said.
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