China's Anti-money Laundering Legal System Research

Money laundering is one of the most serious crime phenomena thatthe international community faces. The legal regime of anti-moneylaundering by financial institutions is important means by which theinternational community controls money laundering. This dissertationattempts to probe into the necessity and universality of this legal regimeexited in the international community. It carries on further study frominternational law and comparative law perspectives in order to putforward proposals for legislation as to this legal regime of the financialinstitutions in China. There are four chapters in this dissertation with a preface at the verybeginning. The part of the preface introduces the reasons for selecting thesubject. Chapter one discusses some basic problems concerning moneylaundering and through analyzing the role of financial institutions inanti-money laundering reveals the necessity of establishing the legalregime of anti-money laundering. Firstly, on the basis of analyzing thedefinition of money laundering in concerned treaties, this chapter definesit as "an activity and process disguising the source and nature of crimeproceeds or the flow direction of terrorist financing and providinglegitimate covers for them". This dissertation also summarizes three maincharacteristics of it, i.e. duality of purposes, proceeds laundered that maybe from crime or from legal source for terrorism financing, andinternationalization. On analyzing the threat of money laundering, thedissertation indicates it is necessary to combat it. Secondly, this chapterpoints out that the financial system is a main channel of moneylaundering. Money launderers can use not only deposit-loan instrumentsprovided by banks but also almost all the financial instruments. At lastthis paper introduces the legal value of anti-money laundering. Chapter two examines the treaties and the resolutions and statementsof international organizations relevant to anti-money laundering .It insiststhat the legal regime of anti-money laundering have been established andimproved through international cooperation and accepted by theinternational community generally. Firstly this chapter analyzes therudiment of the legal regime of anti-laundering. This international legalregime was generally accepted by international community gradually andexpanded to the whole world from the developed countries and regions tothe developing ones. It was not merely applied to combating moneylaundering relevant to drugs, but to money laundering relevant to almostevery serious crimes. Moreover the legal regime of Britain andAmerica is introduced. It includes the legal norms forbidding moneylaundering. And some useful advises are concluded from the experiencesof America and Britain. Chapter three analyses the main problems of the legal regime inChina. China has primarily established the legal regime of anti-moneylaundering based on criminal law. But this system still has many shorts. At last, this dissertation put forwards some suggestions to improvethis system, such as enacting anti-money laundering law, increasing thepredicate crimes of money laundering, amending the definition of moneylaundering, expanding the financial institutions having anti-moneylaundering obligation, imposing strict obligations of Customer DueDiligence, exempting financial institutions from breaching the secrecyrestriction for complying with their anti-money laundering obligations,strengthening financial privacy protection, preventing e-money used bymoney launderers and international cooperation. The relevantinternational law and domestic law improve and supplement each other.The international cooperation improves this regime and this regimewidens the international cooperation. The anti-money laundering legalsystem should be improved to meet the needs of controlling moneylaundering, and China may improve this system by using internationalexperiences for reference, and also has its own character.