Chinese money washers move billions through US banks

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Dylan Tokar, The Wall Street Journal 2 min Read 28 Aug 2025, 07:26 IST TD Bank Last year agreed to pay more than $ 3 billion after US prosecutors found the bank used by a Chinese money laundering. (File Photo: Reuters) Summary The black market for US cash may have driven as much as $ 312 billion to illegal money through financial institutions. In the past few years, Chinese money launderers have shifted about $ 312 billion to illegal transactions by US banks and other financial institutions to help Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, the Treasury division said. This growing market that connects dirty cash from Mexico’s drug cartels to Chinese Expats, which wants to get their savings from China, is investigating the Trump administration, who wants banks to help break down. In a report by Wall Street Journal earlier this year, it was emphasized how one such network could make five and six-digit deposits at counters’ Windows in the entire Los Angeles County. The details of Chinese money laundering are now the dominant player in an illegal money service industry who uses criminal groups such as the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa Cartels to move profits from drug sales, according to the Treasury. Such networks are also involved in crimes such as pig trays, trafficking and healthcare fraud. The report by the Treasury Financial Crimes Relief Network analyzed 137,153 suspicious activity reports submitted by financial institutions between 2021 and 2024. Banks and money services must submit the reports under US regulations against money laundering. A senior Fincen official said the Treasury hoped to generate more law enforcement clues by encouraging banks to search for red flags associated with Chinese money laundering. Treasury, for example, said that banks should investigate clients who use Chinese passports that make large cash deposits that are contrary to their declared profession or income. The context Chinese money laundering networks played a greater role in the illegal drug trade thanks to laws in China that limited the amount of money Chinese citizens can take from the country. These laws have led Chinese citizens to turn to a black market for US currencies run by underground brokers, according to law enforcement. As demand for their services has increased, brokers with cash have to sell drug dealers and other criminal groups. The Trump administration made the target of Mexico’s Cartelle a top priority. China’s role in the Fentanyl trade – both and producer of the precursor chemicals used to produce the drug, as well as an emerging money laundering, is also a focus for the administration. Banks may face large fines if they do not do enough to detect and report illegal money flow. Last year, TD Bank agreed to pay more than $ 3 billion after US prosecutors found that the bank was used by a Chinese money laundering network in New York and New Jersey to wash more than $ 470 million. Trump officials said they wanted to make anti-money laundering rules less troublesome for banks. Write to Dylan Tokar at [email protected], catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on live currency. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #china #Genitstate Read the following story