A new report has uncovered that U.S. banks processed over $312 billion in transactions tied to Chinese money laundering networks between 2020 and 2024. The findings come from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which analyzed more than 137,000 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports during this period. On average, that’s about $62 billion per year linked to illicit financial flows.
Chinese Gangs and Mexican Cartels: A Growing Financial Partnership
FinCEN’s analysis shows how Chinese laundering networks have built deep financial ties with Mexican drug cartels, helping move vast sums of drug money through the U.S. financial system. These networks are driven in part by China’s strict currency controls, which limit access to U.S. dollars. As a result, Chinese nationals seeking dollars are willing to pay a premium, and criminal organizations are more than happy to supply them.
But the operations go beyond just drugs. The same networks are also involved in human trafficking, healthcare fraud, and real estate schemes, with $53.7 billion in suspicious transactions identified in these areas. Criminals are leveraging the U.S. banking infrastructure to disguise illegal proceeds as legitimate income, often using shell companies, false documentation, and cross-border accounts.
Crypto Isn’t the Main Culprit — Traditional Banks Still Dominate Illicit Finance
Despite growing media attention on cryptocurrency and its association with cybercrime, the report emphasizes that the majority of money laundering is still happening through traditional banking systems — not crypto.
While cryptocurrency does play a role in illegal activity, experts estimate that it represents less than 1% of total crypto transactions. Over the last five years, illicit crypto activity totaled around $189 billion, a fraction of the $2 trillion globally laundered each year, according to UN estimates.
This insight challenges the narrative that digital currencies are the primary tool for financial crime. In reality, it’s the familiar — and often regulated — financial institutions that remain central to the largest money laundering operations in the world.
