By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
FINCEN has received SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) with a total value of $7.1 billion linked to suspected Chinese money laundering activity.
The agency, the AML unit of the U.S. Treasury, published an advisory notice in August warning of CMLNs (Chinese money laundering networks).
“Since [then] FinCEN has received over 500 CMLN-related SARs referencing the Advisory’s key term for suspected CMLN activity,” it said.
“These reports described approximately $7.1 billion in suspected CMLN-related suspicious transactions occurring between December 2018 and November 2025.”
It added: “This volume of reportable activity underscores the sustained seriousness of the threat CMLNs pose to the U.S. financial system.”
FinCEN revealed the findings at the latest FinCEN Exchange, a public-private partnership event aimed at countering illicit finance.
The event convened global financial institutions, federal law enforcement agencies, and Treasury officials. It focused on “denying individual Chinese money launders access to the U.S. and global financial systems”.
“The Treasury Department will continue working with the People’s Republic of China to combat illicit activity,” FinCEN said.
FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said: “Malicious Chinese individuals engaged in money laundering pose one of the most significant threats facing the U.S. financial system,
“These individuals regularly launder illicit proceeds for a variety of transnational criminal organizations. Including Mexico-based drug cartels. [They] are responsible for wreaking havoc on the United States’ financial system and national security.”
In August, FinCEN said that CMLNs are suspected to be linked to as much as $312 billion in illicit activity between 2020 and 2024.
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