China to back fight against terror financing, money laundering

After backing the BRICS declaration on terrorism naming Pakistan-based militant groups, China today said it will extend support to the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering in non-financial sectors.
"Money laundering and terrorist financing activities are gradually spreading to some non-financial sectors," the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said in a statement, noting the risks in sectors like real estate intermediary services and jewellery sales.
The PBOC has already started monitoring and analysis in some of these sectors and will work with relevant government departments on anti-money laundering rules for non-financial industries, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

Since China's anti-money laundering law became effective in 2007, supervision has improved, covering almost every financial sector, such as banking, securities, insurance, non-banking payment institutions and bank card clearing institutions.
According to a government guideline, made public earlier this week, China will coordinate supervision to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion.
By 2020, China should be able to effectively prevent and control money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion by improving laws and regulations and coordinating the work of different government departments, the statement issued last night said.

Observers say China's backing for anti-money laundering and terror financing efforts could lead to more effective measures at the international level to cut sources of finance to global terror outfits.

Shedding its earlier reservations, China had backed a tough declaration at the BRICS Summit earlier this month in Chinese city of Xiamen and identified Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida and its affiliates, including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Hizb ut-Tahrir as terrorist groups.
"We deplore all terrorist attacks ... and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever and stress that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism," the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, (BRICS) statement had said.
Considerable significance was attached to China endorsing the statement specially against militant outfits based in Pakistan, its closest ally, at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen as it had resisted their inclusion at last year's Summit in Goa.

The PBOC also dismissed concerns over strengthened government supervision of abnormal cross-border capital flow, saying that the monitoring will not disrupt normal and legal use of cross-border capital.
The monitoring work will be carried out backstage and does not require further information from citizens and enterprises, the central bank said.