Major Improvements: Review on the Revision of Anti-Money Laundering Law of PRC
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65879/3070-6122.2026.2.06Keywords:
Non-financial institutions, Beneficial owners, Risk-based concept, Client due diligence, Transaction reportAbstract
This paper introduces the domestic and international background and the process of the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Law of the People’s Republic of China, compares the original law with the new one, demonstrates the significant meaning of what has been revised both in normative and practical aspects and puts forward some comments. The revised law improves or innovates regulations on the following eight aspects, which are the definition of anti-money laundering, the scope of extraterritorial application, the anti-money laundering obligations of specific non-financial institutions, the regulations on beneficial owners, administrative penalties, cooperation and data protection, client due diligence, and transaction reporting system. This paper describes eight major improvements in detail and comments on them in order to show a high level of legislation, and to make a well understanding of these “shinning points” which help to enhance the quality, efficiency and status of China's anti-money laundering work.
References
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