According to a new report, US banks played a significant role in laundering money for Chinese criminals between 2020 and 2024.
Volume of Money Laundering in the US
According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), banks were implicated in laundering over $312 billion during the reporting period, averaging more than $62 billion per year. Analyzing bank operation reports, FinCEN highlighted this fact as key to understanding the scale of the problem.
Connection of Chinese Gangs with Drugs
Chinese criminal networks have established symbiotic ties with Mexican drug cartels, allowing the gangs to launder drug profits in US dollars. "These networks launder proceeds for Mexico-based drug cartels and are involved in other significant underground money movement schemes within the United States and around the world," said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki.
Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering
Despite associations with cryptocurrency, it is important to note that much of the money laundering occurs outside of crypto assets. According to the UN, the global amount of money laundered annually exceeds $2 trillion, whereas the illicit cryptocurrency volumes over the last five years totaled around $189 billion. "Illicit activity is but a small fraction of the crypto ecosystem. We estimate that it is less than 1% of overall crypto volume," noted TRM Labs head of policy and strategic partnerships, Angela Ang.
Thus, the data suggests that many accusations against cryptocurrency in the context of money laundering may be exaggerated, and attention should focus on the primary networks operating outside the legal financial sector.
