Cryptocurrency helps ship 1 trillion yuan out of China to casinos, gambling every year
- Cryptocurrencies are used to surreptitiously collect and transfer funds, making it difficult to trace the source
- Authorities point to loopholes and gaps in the supervision of payment services providers, third-party institutions and e-commerce platforms
At least 1 trillion yuan (US$145.5 billion) worth of funds flows out of China into gambling activities every year, aggravating the country’s economic and financial security risks, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Public Security.
Gangs running illegal gambling operations use digital currencies to collect and transfer funds, making it difficult to trace the source and adding significant challenges to investigations, said Liao Jinrong, the director general of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Public Security.
Liao, speaking at an event on payment and clearing in Beijing on Thursday, did not give specific details on the outflows but said that such operations could undermine China’s economic security because of the potential collusion between gambling operators and “foreign powers”.
Gambling and casinos are illegal in mainland China.
“There are so many casinos overseas, and details of the assets of many domestic entrepreneurs, individuals and related parties would have been investigated thoroughly [by foreign operators conducting background checks]. This is very unsafe for us,” Liao was quoted by The Beijing News as saying.
