Ren Gulong and Zhang Jiaqi
In mid-February, the European Commission adopted its new list of 23 high-risk countries for money laundering. As a result of the listing, banks and other entities covered by the European Union anti-money laundering rules will be required to apply increased checks on financial operations involving customers and financial institutions from these countries. China, as a member of FATF, has also devoted to fight against money laundering. One of the recent developments in this regard is the issuance of Interpretation on Several Issues concerning the Application of Laws in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Illegal Fund Payment and Settlement Business and Illegal Foreign Exchange Trading (the “Interpretation”) by Chinese Supreme People’s Court and Chinese Supreme People’s Procuratorate to combat criminal activities involving underground banks which in nature have largely facilitated money laundering.
Due to changes of economic situation in China, some people are trying to transfer their funds out of China illegally. This is a severe threaten to financial stability and national security. The Interpretation was released to fight against illegal money transfer and other money laundering activities. It addresses several issues concerning the application of laws in handling criminal cases involving illegal fund payment and settlement business (“Illegal Settlement”) and illegal foreign exchange trading (“Illegal Trading of FX”).
Authored by Ren Gulong <rengulong@anjielaw.com> , Zhang Jiaqi <zhangjiaqi@anjielaw.com> at AnJie Law Firm