Overview

• FinCEN published a Financial Trend Analysis and a formal alert detailing how Chinese money‑laundering networks moved about $312 billion flagged in 137,153 suspicious activity reports from 2020 to 2024.
• Real estate emerged as a key integration channel, with 17,389 reports tied to roughly $53.7 billion in suspicious property‑related activity in the United States.
• Officials said the networks exploit regulatory frictions in Mexico and China, creating a market to buy cartel dollars and resell them to Chinese clients facing capital controls.
• FinCEN described tactics including mirror transactions, trade‑based schemes, use of money mules and shell companies, and the recruitment or placement of operatives inside financial institutions.
• Treasury leaders linked the laundering ecosystem to broader harms such as fentanyl distribution, fraud, human trafficking and elder abuse, as Mexican banking representatives plan U.S. meetings on anti‑money‑laundering efforts.