The value of laundered money that was uncovered in the first nine months of the year soared to almost 150 billion yuan (HK$170.15 billion), about five times last year's total, according to state media.
Observers credit the surge to the country's unprecedented campaign to crack down on underground banks, which usually serve as middlemen in the illicit trade, but stress the need for more sophisticated regulation in non-banking financial institutions, including brokerages and insurers.
'The surge came naturally as a result of tighter regulation of underground banks, which had effectively been given a free rein until late last year,' said Li Youhuan, a researcher with the Guangdong Academy of Social Science. 'The efforts also benefit from progress in legislation and international co-operation.'
The Anti Money-laundering Law, a milestone in legislation that defines and criminalises money laundering, took effect last year. China was also granted full membership in the Financial Action Task Force, the world body co-ordinating cross-border anti-money-laundering efforts.
The sum involved in the 45 money-laundering charges filed in the first nine months of the year ran to 105.3 billion yuan, Tang Xu, an anti-money-laundering official with the People's Bank of China, told Xinhua-affiliated Outlook magazine.
That accounted for more than 70 per cent of the 149.6 billion yuan worth of illicitly processed funds reported over the same period.
