Despite the rapidly growing economy, it is believed that significant numbers of China’s affluent population are shifting their money away from the country in order to avoid taxes or seizure by the government.
A report by the tabloid newspaper, New York Post, has suggested that a staggering USD1.4 trillion has been exported from China to other parts of the world since 2002.
With as much as USD10 billion allegedly fleeing China each month, this large sum could distort the global economy, as shown in the art and real-estate markets in major cities around the world, such as New York.
Following the arrest of the once highly influential Chinese politician Bo Xilai, the Chinese central government has launched a purge on money laundering. This has affected a wide range of people, from oil executives to television anchormen. Even the Bank of China was accused of laundering money.
The report indicates that one of the options to launder money is to go through the casinos in Macau, where the money can be “blended in” with others in the payout.
The money can then enter the Hong Kong banks, and, through various dodgy channels, they will eventually land in the accounts of foreign banks that have no idea who the real owners of these accounts are.
The report said that, with the casinos in Macau and the banks in Hong Kong, “a more appropriate label for the two [regions] would be the Special Laundering Regions of China.”
Moreover, there are other money laundering methods that require neither banks nor casinos.
For example, money managers in North America were offered a substantial amount of inflated fees to invest Chinese corporate funds overseas. In truth, a proportion of the fees were paid to some shell companies that were actually owned by Chinese officials, who use the money to buy houses or art pieces.
New York Post describes another way to sell assets to officials at a loss: providing them with an immediate profit that serves as a bribe. Money can also be wired to the front companies owned by the officials and their families, which turns the money into legitimate income.
Other measures also include the wiring of money into anonymous credit cards.
New York tabloid reports on the ‘Special Laundering Regions of China’
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