China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate issue new guidelines, defining virtual asset transactions as a tool for money laundering, effective from August 20, 2024.
Bollywood Fever: The Supreme People’s Court of China, the country’s highest judicial authority, along with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, has released a joint document that interprets the nation’s money laundering law, now explicitly including virtual asset transactions as a potential means of money laundering.
This new interpretation aims to provide clearer guidelines for lower courts in identifying and prosecuting money laundering crimes.
The document, titled “Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering,” updates and refines the application of punitive measures for money laundering offenses.
It highlights the use of virtual assets as a tool for concealing the origins and nature of criminal proceeds, aligning with Item 5 of the first paragraph of Article 191 of China’s Criminal Law.
The inclusion of virtual assets in the money laundering framework reflects China’s growing recognition of digital currencies and other virtual assets as mechanisms that can be exploited for illegal financial activities.
The new guidelines are designed to streamline the prosecution of such cases, making it easier for courts to classify and adjudicate them.
Since these government institutions began intensifying their focus on money laundering, there has been a significant increase in prosecutions.
Data from the Supreme People’s Court indicates that the number of individuals prosecuted for money laundering in 2023 was 20 times higher than in 2019.
Moreover, in the first half of 2024 alone, 1,391 people were prosecuted for money laundering, marking a 28.4% increase from the previous year.
The updated guidelines took effect on August 20, 2024, and are expected to bolster China’s efforts to combat financial crimes, particularly those involving new digital financial tools.
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