Chinese Networks Use US To Launder Billions For Mexican Cartels

Chinese networks are laundering billions of dollars in drug cartel cash through the U.S. financial system, according to a new report from the Treasury Department.

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said banks flagged about $312 billion in transactions from suspected Chinese money laundering networks from January 2020 to December 2024. That came from 137,153 Bank Secrecy Act reports from financial institutions. Treasury also linked Chinese money laundering networks to U.S. real estate transactions, casinos, human trafficking and even laundering through assisted living homes in New York. The networks also use Chinese students studying in the U.S. to help facilitate some schemes. Real estate alone accounted for about 13% of the total, but the vast majority was U.S. banks.

“Money laundering networks linked to individual passport holders from the People’s Republic of China enable cartels to poison Americans with fentanyl, conduct human trafficking, and wreak havoc among communities across our great nation,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said.

The report comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suspended a Biden-era small business rule in March designed to curb money laundering that small businesses had challenged in court. President Donald Trump said the Corporate Transparency Act, which Congress passed in 2021, was “outrageous and invasive.” Bessent said it was costly for small businesses. The CTA would have required small businesses to report information about their beneficial owners to Treasury’s FinCEN. The rules remain in place for foreign businesses.

The FinCEN report noted that laws and regulations in Mexico and China also play a role.