In a recent statement, China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate said the country is keeping an eagle eye on the possible use of crypto assets in money laundering.
China Keeping Close Eye On the Use Of Crypto For Money Laundering
Legal experts reportedly indicated this could heighten the prosecution risk of those trading in virtual currencies. Based on a report in the South China Morning Post, Shao Shiwei, a lawyer from the Mankun Law Firm in Shanghai, pointed out that this court’s judicial interpretation affects Chinese crypto investors in mainland China. He allegedly wrote:
From now on, it will be more difficult for USDT merchants to operate and for ordinary people to occasionally trade cryptocurrencies because of potentially high legal risks.
The Tether USDT is the world’s foremost stablecoin and is a kind of cryptocurrency attached to the value of the US dollar. Shao went on to say that, should non-criminal crypto investors unintentionally receive gains from criminal dealings while trading, China may regard them as part of the money-laundering case.
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This judicial interpretation followed the continued evolution of money laundering schemes. Chen Xueyong, the deputy chief judge of the Supreme Court’s third Criminal Adjudication Tribunal, said tracing and addressing criminal financial deals using virtual assets is difficult in today’s digital environment.
Despite these decisions and the chances of being prosecuted, crypto investment in mainland China shows no signs of waning. According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese crypto investors gained $1.15bn in 2023 and ranked as the world’s fourth most active market.
