NCJ Number
239292
Journal
International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2012 Pages: 5-23
Date Published
March 2012
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the type of underground banking systems which primarily deals with foreign exchange and remittance transfer.
Abstract
Chinese informal fund transfer systems (IFTS), widely known as underground banks, are one of the two prototypes of unregulated practices of fund transfer which could either use or bypass conventional banking institutions. This article focuses on the type of underground banking systems which primarily deals with foreign exchange and remittance transfer. The article proposes that underground banks are treated as illegal enterprises instead of a component of organized crime. This first qualitative study draws firsthand evidence from interviews made both in mainland China and in the United States. By depicting and analyzing the links of Chinese IFTS to human smuggling and money laundering, this article examines the extent to which the systems are involved in crime. (Published Abstract)