Chinese legislator appeals for rules to curb anti-money laundering
11/3/2005 11:22
A deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, said
Friday China should map out special anti-money laundering regulations as soon as
possible. "The fight against dirty money is conducive to economic development
and social stability and unity," said Zhao Peng, director of the Gansu
provincial branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China's
biggest commercial bank. The People's Bank of China (PBC), or the central
bank, gives the priority to collecting and analyzing information on large- value
and suspicious transactions at banks when following the tracks of dirty money.
"The inspection covers a narrow area and proves not that effective," he told
Xinhua. Instead, Zhao said China is badly in need of a supervision system of
anti-money laundering that covers all the three leading financial sectors --
banking, securities and insurance. "There are some loopholes in insurance and
securities sectors in terms of anti-money laundering work." China's
anti-money laundering regulations should clarify the functions different
departments should perform, he said. The country has now four bodies oversee the
financial sector, namely the central bank and three regulatory commissions on
banking, insurance and securities. A latest report from the central bank also
said that the central bank will actively promote formulation of a law on anti-
money laundering, and continue to conduct on-site inspection on anti-money
laundering activities at commercial banks and participate in the investigation
of money laundering crimes. PBC Deputy Governor Li Ruogu said earlier that
China would become a full member of the Financial Action Task Force on Money
Laundering (FATF), the most influential international anti-money laundering
organization, in the middle of this year if everything goes smoothly, an effort
to enhance global cooperation in this regard.
Xinhua
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