A working conference on cracking down  illegal and criminal activities related to the illegal trading of foreign exchange was held recently by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). At the conference, the joint efforts by the SAFE and the MPS in 2013 to crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to the illegal trading of foreign exchange were summarized and relevant work for 2014 was arranged.   In addition, advanced groups and individuals in terms of combating illegal and criminal activities related to the illegal trading of foreign exchange in 2013 were commended.

It was pointed out at the conference that the foreign exchange authorities and the public security organs at all levels have tightened cooperation and have jointly carried out investigations according to the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, uncovering in 2013 more than forty cases involving foreign exchange –related illegal and criminal activities including the illegal trading of foreign exchange in an amount over RMB50 billion and more than one hundred criminal suspects were captured on site. Great achievements were made and foreign exchange–related illegal and criminal activities of all kinds were successfully deterred.

It was emphasized at the conference that fluctuations in cross-border capital flows have been increasing since 2013. Therefore, there is a heavy responsibility to prevent unusual foreign exchange capital flows. The foreign exchange authorities and public security organs at all levels are required to strengthen study and judgments about the situation, make innovations in terms of the means of investigation, and improve the relevance and effectiveness of cracking down on foreign exchange–related illegal and criminal activities. Efforts shall be made to increase regional cooperation and to consolidate centralized governance in key regions in due time so as to build joint forces for cracking down on foreign exchange–related illegal and criminal activities. Meanwhile, upstream and downstream crimes related to the illegal trading of foreign exchange shall be pursued based on available clues, crime networks shall be thoroughly investigated, in particular criminal activities including money laundering and activities transferring hidden illegal money.  In addition to investigating the criminal responsibility of the operators of underground money shops, administrative penalties shall be imposed on the participants in underground money shop transactions to increase punishment for illegal and criminal activities, such as the illegal trading of foreign exchange. In addition, investigations and research shall be strengthened in order early on to discover and to prevent new types of foreign exchange–related illegal and criminal activities.

It was requested at the conference that the foreign exchange authorities and public security organs in 2014 should continue to deepen their cooperation, upgrade the means of investigations, and continue to maintain high pressure and to crack down on foreign exchange–related illegal and criminal activities so as to safeguard the healthy development of China’s foreign-related economy and finance.