China’s Supreme Court has listed Virtual Assets as a money laundering method as it released “Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering” along with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
This interpretation has identified “virtual asset” transactions as means of money laundering in Article 191, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Criminal Law. The Article mentions that the transfer and conversion of criminal proceeds and their benefits through “virtual asset” transactions and financial asset exchanges can be identified as a way to cover up and hide the source and nature of criminal proceeds and their benefits by other means.
As per a press release, the “Interpretation” will come into effect on August 20, 2024.
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According to the Interpretation, in 2023, 2,971 people were prosecuted for money laundering, this figure is around 20 times the number of people prosecuted for money laundering in 2019. In the first half of 2024, the number of prosecutions went up by 28.4% year-on-year and a total of 1,391 people were prosecuted for money laundering.
“Interpretation” also states that if the amount of money laundering exceeds 5 Million Yuan and there are multiple acts of money laundering; if someone refuses to cooperate with the recovery of property, leading to the inability to recover the stolen money and property; if a loss exceeding 2.5 Million Yuan is caused; or in case of any other serious consequences caused, it shall be deemed as “serious circumstances”.
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