- China is set to overhaul its AML laws for the first time since 2007.
- The revised laws will encompass crypto transactions.
- Legal experts raised concerns about the laws being “difficult” to comprehend.
China is gearing up for a major policy shift that will overhaul its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations to include cryptocurrency transactions by next year.
Initially proposed in 2021, the revised Anti-Money Laundering Law of the People’s Republic of China took center stage at a recent State Council executive meeting chaired by Prime Minister Li Qiang, reflecting the urgency to combat crypto money laundering crimes.
China’s Policy Shift Toward Crypto Regulation
According to a January 31 report by a local media outlet, the revised draft is part of a 2023 legislative work plan, where the revision is “listed as a draft law that is relatively mature” and is expected to be enacted in 2025.
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If passed, this will mark the first major revision of the country’s AML laws since their inception in 2007.
But while this move marks a pivotal moment in the domestic and global digital assets market, experts who participated in the State Council meeting raised concerns about the draft’s ambiguity due to challenges of framing crypto regulations.
Per legal scholar Professor Wang Xin, “it is difficult for the revised draft to be comprehensive” as China’s laws lack a clear definition of the connotation and extension of virtual assets.
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“Although the revised draft of the Anti-Money Laundering Law has included the prevention of virtual asset money laundering, there is a lack of operational guidance on the subsequent seizure, freezing, deduction, and confiscation of virtual asset money laundering crimes, resulting in a "disconnect".” The report quoted the scholar.
Given that law enforcement and judicial organs can only act within the scope of legal provisions, this disconnect will likely create “grey areas,” presenting difficulties in combating crypto use in money laundering.
Read about China’s booming underground crypto market:
China Records $86.4B Crypto Transaction Volume Despite Ban
Stay updated on the Chinese intelligence bribing scandal:
U.S. Official Allegedly Bribed with Bitcoin by Chinese Intelligence
