Naming and Shaming: China’s Central Bank Lists Potential Money Launderers

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), is increasing its efforts to crack down on financial crimes by adding a list to its website, publicly naming organizations and individuals it believes may be laundering money, reported the South China Morning Post.

The column under “Risk Warnings and Financial Sanctions” on the Anti-Money Laundering Bureau of the PBOC’s website was blank as of Monday but is expected to feature individuals and entities shortly.

The initiative is seen as an added incentive for individuals and entities to toe the line, analysts said.

As part of its ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, China updated its Anti-Money Laundering Law last year and formed a multi-agency task force to monitor the issue.

The timing of the new initiative comes as China prepares for its fifth evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body that sets anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards. It accepted China in 2007.

Aligning national laws with international standards is key to a successful FATF review and has added pressure on Chinese authorities to improve compliance and supervision.

For years, European Union officials and others around the world have complained that Chinese money launderers have been a “growing threat,” laundering the proceeds of a multi-billion dollar European drug trade and other illicit activities.

At the same time, Chinese money launderers have been helping international drug traffickers, like Mexican cartels and the Italian mafia, launder the proceeds of their criminal enterprises, the Financial Times reported last year.

As a result, the Chinese central bank called for improved supervision and transparency as well as better investigative efforts to curb illicit financial transactions, seeing it also as a matter of national security.

In 2023, the bank received 13,000 tips about suspicious transactions and helped the police resolve 1,600 cases of money laundering.