Bank of China denies aiding in money laundering

One branch sent 6b yuan abroad: CCTV

Bank of China (BOC) denied Wednesday accusations on State television that it had aided money laundering, claiming that all of its transfers of capital overseas complied with State currency exchange rules.

In a press statement released on its official website Wednesday, BOC, one of China's five largest State-backed banks, said reports by China Central Television (CCTV) and other media "contain misunderstandings" in their coverage of a BOC capital transfer program called "You Hui Tong," and that the reports' references to "underground bank" and "money laundering" are "inconsistent with facts."

BOC deleted the statement from its website and official Weibo account during the evening the same day. A spokesperson at the bank's Guangdong branch told the Global Times on Wednesday evening that the statement was undergoing "some adjustments."

The bank reposted an updated version of the statement at around 9 pm Wednesday night, deleting the reference to CCTV and "regulators."

Anti-money laundering officials and representatives of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) visited the bank Wednesday afternoon, 21cbh.com reported.

CCTV's report, aired on Wednesday morning, was an undercover investigation into BOC's You Hui Tong program, which uses investment emigration programs to help Chinese residents transfer capital amounts in excess of national limits to the bank's overseas accounts.

Under normal rules, Chinese citizens are limited to $50,000 per year per person in foreign currency purchases at domestic banks.

A staff member at BOC's Beijing branch told CCTV reporters that the money is first transferred to the bank's Guangdong branch in preparation for exchange. The bank does not promote the program, and the service is only available upon request.

"No matter where our client's money is from and where it goes, we can help them get it out," said the staff member, "To put it simply, we help your launder money." According to the report, the BOC takes about 0.3 to 0.4 percent of the total amount of each exchange in fees.

In its report, CCTV alleged that the bank has violated China's foreign-exchange rules by providing services that help individual clients transfer capital exceeding national limits, stating further that BOC was helping its clients move "dirty money" abroad.

After the news broke, two Guangzhou BOC branches told the Global Times they are still providing the service, and requests are specially handled by account managers. Representatives of both banks declined to provide further details about the program.

"We can process 3 million yuan in one transfer and similar requests just keep coming," an account manager at the BOC's Beijing branch told CCTV reporters, saying that they collaborate frequently with emigration consultancies.

Representative of a Beijing-based emigration consultancy told the Global Times they cooperate with the BOC in assisting clients to exchange money, but declined to elaborate.

According to the CCTV report, a single branch in the Yuexiu district of Guangzhou has transferred over 6 billion yuan this year.

"We have set up a strict framework for business dealings in accordance with related rules and anti-money laundering regulations, have unified and clear standards for certifying the function and origin of the money, and have provided prior notice regarding our business operations," the BOC said in its statement.

The bank said they began trials of the program in 2011, limiting its use to instances of investment emigration and housing purchases abroad.

The statement also added that innovation in financial products is based on the needs of customers and banking reform, and internationalization of the financial business is an irreversible trend.

Zhang Taowei, a financial expert with Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that what the BOC is doing is not illegal, but "[it does put the bank in a position where they are] likely to be covering up for money laundering."

Zhang said many other banks are using this practice for money transfers that bypass government rules. With the financial market constantly evolving, SAFE should also consider loosening regulations on the financial market to facilitate marketization, he said.