China’s central bank ramped up its clampdown on money laundering last year, imposing substantially more fines than in 2017.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) took a total of 189.3 million yuan ($27.6 million) in fines relating to money laundering in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 41%, according to a PBOC report released last week. According to Chinese law, money laundering carries a maximum one-off fine of 5 million yuan for a financial institution and 500,000 yuan for an individual.

Chinese prosecutors approved the arrests of 7,881 people suspected of involvement in money-laundering schemes last year, 313 more than in 2017, according to the report.

The report also said the PBOC has issued more regulations to crack down on the practice in non-financial sectors like real estate, accountancy, law, and jewelry, such as asking companies to report data relevant to anti-money laundering work.

Read the full story on Caixin Global later today.

Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com)

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