Trump implores banks to step up monitoring of China money laundering linked to fentanyl
Treasury advisory highlights how informal Chinese money-laundering operations allow Mexican drug cartels to bypass financial safeguards
The administration of US President Donald Trump called on American banks and other financial institutions Thursday to step up monitoring of suspected Chinese money-laundering networks it says fuel fentanyl addiction in the United States.
The advisory highlighted how informal Chinese money-laundering operations work in a symbiotic relationship with the Jalisco New Generation, Sinaloa, Gulf and other Mexican drug cartels to effectively bypass financial safeguards.
“Money-laundering networks linked to individual passport holders from [China] enable cartels to poison Americans with fentanyl, conduct human trafficking, and wreak havoc among communities across our great nation,” said John Hurley, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department. “The United States will not stand by and allow nefarious actors to launder illicit proceeds through our financial system.”
Echoing “know your customer” US banking rules strengthened after the September 11 attack, the advisory pressures financial institutions to flag Chinese customers who – whether intentionally or unknowingly, including students, retirees and housewives – fit the “unexplained wealth” profile of those potentially laundering money for cartels.
Analysts said the release highlights the importance the administration assigns to the issue, but does not immediately raise the bar.