Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China: Strengthen the crackdown on money laundering involving virtual currencies; last year, more than 2,000 money laundering cases were adjudicated.

Xuan Changneng, vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, stated that China’s high-quality development of anti-money laundering (AML) work has entered a new stage, with remarkable achievements in combating money laundering and related illegal crimes. In 2025, the number of nationwide cases sentenced for the crime of money laundering under Article 191 of China’s Criminal Law exceeded 2,000. China has intensified crackdowns on professional money laundering, virtual currency-related money laundering, and cross-border money laundering activities, while improving the quality and efficiency of investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of money laundering crimes. The article notes that criminal syndicates exploit differences and loopholes in legal systems, regulatory rules, and other aspects across countries and regions to conduct arbitrage, using various methods such as nominee accounts, fund wash trading, and virtual currencies to conceal fund flows, posing new challenges to global financial supervision and law enforcement. It also stresses the urgent need for countries to strengthen cross-border coordination and cooperation in areas including intelligence sharing, case investigation, and asset recovery.