China's top court gets tough on money laundering

A new interpretation issued by China's highest court increases the burden on those defending themselves against money laundering allegations and clarifies what is needed to establish prima facie evidence of the knowledge element of the crime.

The Supreme People's Court issued its Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning Specific Application of the Law in Trials of Criminal Cases Such as Money Laundering (最高人民法院关于审理洗钱等刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释) on November 4 2009; it took effect on November 11.

The interpretation establishes that the “knowledge” element (similar, in this case, to the mens rea element familiar to common law lawyers) required to prove the offence of money laundering can be inferred from objective factual circumstances including suspicious activities such as purchasing property well below the market price or assisting someone to deposit a large sum of money in different bank accounts. Once the prima facie evidence is raised, it will then be up to the defendant to rebut the presumption.