China UnionPay has made more efforts to combat money laundering, according to a statement the bank card association sent to the Global Times on Thursday.
"It is our top priority to combat overseas money laundering, capital flight and other illegal bank card use, and we collaborate closely with relevant authorities to do so," China UnionPay said in the statement.
The company has implemented measures to control risk, including monitoring abnormally large transactions, conducting regular inspection of merchants and establishing a mechanism with law enforcement bodies across borders to share information and investigate suspicious activities, according to the statement.
China UnionPay has ordered its subsidiaries and overseas branches to make a thorough study of regulations and rules related to the problem in other countries and regions, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday, citing an internal document seen by the media.
The company also assigned specialized officers to monitor suspicious deals, read the document.
"Cross-border payment has become one of the tools criminals use to conduct money laundering," the document said. "Automatic teller machines, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online payments are used by them to illegally transfer money."
The overseas branches of some domestic banks have come under frequent investigation by foreign financial authorities recently, which also brought pressure to Chinese financial regulators.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission issued a notice on April 5 calling for Chinese financial institutions to step up risk management measures in overseas operations.
In February, Spanish authorities raided the Madrid branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to investigate alleged money laundering involving the bank, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain's financial regulator, might also strengthen scrutiny over the London branches of ICBC as well as China Construction Bank, financial website caixin.com reported in March.
