China-linked money laundering networks aid cartels, warn US lawmakers

US lawmakers and experts told a congressional hearing that Chinese money laundering networks have become major financial partners of Mexican drug cartels, helping move fentanyl profits worldwide. Witnesses called for stronger enforcement, greater transparency and coordinated action to dismantle evolving criminal financial networks

Washington: Republican lawmakers and expert witnesses told a congressional hearing that Chinese money laundering networks have become key financial partners for Mexican drug cartels, helping move billions of dollars in illicit proceeds through the global financial system and complicating US efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.

The issue was examined this week by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which focused on how Chinese money laundering networks, or CMLNs, allegedly exploit vulnerabilities in the US financial system while adapting their methods to avoid detection.

---

Chairman Dan Meuser said the networks play a critical role in moving profits generated from fentanyl sales in the United States. “What’s happening is that from China, the so-called precursors of fentanyl are being shipped to cartels. Cartels are developing fentanyl, shipping it to the US, and making the sales take place,” Meuser said.

He described a complex financial cycle in which drug proceeds are converted and transferred across borders. “Within the US, the various players and actors there, both for the cartels and for some Chinese foreign nationals that are here, are laundering the money, taking the US dollars they receive and converting them into pesos, for the most part, shipping those pesos back to Mexico, where Mexico then converts them again from pesos to Chinese currency, which goes back to China,” he said.

Liana Rosen, a specialist in international sanctions and financial crimes at the Congressional Research Service, told lawmakers that Chinese money laundering networks use multiple channels to conceal illicit funds.

“Yes, all of the above have been involved in Chinese money laundering networks,” Rosen said when asked whether cash-intensive businesses, real estate and money service businesses were being exploited. “What’s really interesting about these Chinese money laundering networks is the variety of ways in which they launder these illicit funds,” she said, adding that they “continue to adapt and evolve to avoid law enforcement detection.”

Rep Zach Nunn argued that the threat extends beyond narcotics trafficking. “Chinese money laundering networks have become the bankers’ cartel for poisoning our communities, including over 40,000 shell companies that are operating right here in the United States today,” he said. “Every dollar that is laundered buys more fentanyl, more guns, more product, and it’s moving directly into our country,” Nunn added.

He also alleged that the networks support a wider range of illicit actors. “The CCP bank networks don’t just bank the cartels; they launder money for North Korean hackers, for what’s happening in Iran, for terrorism, and certainly for Russian crime rings.”

Witnesses urged a broader government response. Retired Treasury special agent John Cassara said Chinese money laundering groups have increasingly handled proceeds generated by Mexican cartels. “Over the past five years, Chinese money laundering rings have been increasingly moving the drug proceeds of the Mexican cartels,” he said.

“This pent-up demand for dollars from China and the cartels’ need to unload US dollar proceeds creates this unholy alliance between Chinese money launderers and the Mexican cartels,” Cassara added. He called for “a comprehensive strategy to go after Chinese transnational crime” and proposed regional task forces bringing together federal, state and local authorities.

Leland Lazarus, founder and chief executive officer of Lazarus Consulting, urged greater coordination among government agencies, financial institutions and international partners.

He said policymakers should strengthen transparency measures, expand enforcement tools and improve the ability to identify and dismantle criminal financial networks. Fentanyl has become a major issue in US-China relations, with Washington repeatedly accusing Chinese suppliers of providing precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to manufacture the synthetic opioid. Beijing has rejected accusations that it is responsible for the US drug crisis and has called for greater cooperation rather than blame.