US banks moved $312B in dirty money, but critics still blame crypto
U.S. banks processed roughly $312 billion in suspicious transactions linked to Chinese money‑laundering networks between 2020 and 2024, according to a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) advisory that reviewed more than 137,000 Bank Secrecy Act reports. That works out to an average of about $62 billion per year passing through the U.S. banking system from those actors.
FinCEN’s analysis describes an operational relationship between China‑based networks and Mexico‑based drug cartels: the cartels need dollar‑denominated laundering channels for drug proceeds, while the Chinese groups seek U.S. dollars to circumvent China’s currency controls. The agency says these underground networks move money across borders and exploit the seams of formal banking systems.
FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki warned that these networks launder proceeds for Mexico‑based cartels and are involved in other significant underground money‑movement schemes both inside the United States and internationally.
Beyond drug proceeds, the report links the same networks to a range of other criminal activity, including human trafficking and smuggling, healthcare fraud, elder‑abuse schemes, and real‑estate laundering. FinCEN flagged about $53.7 billion in suspicious real‑estate transactions tied to these actors.
Despite those findings, lawmakers and some policymakers continue to single out cryptocurrency as a primary conduit for illicit finance. Senator Elizabeth Warren and others have urged tougher regulation of digital assets, arguing that bad actors increasingly turn to crypto to evade controls and launder funds.
Context matters: the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that more than $2 trillion is laundered globally each year. By comparison, Chainalysis estimates that illicit crypto flows totaled roughly $189 billion over the last five years. Industry analysts stress that illicit activity represents only a small fraction of overall crypto volume; as Angela Ang of TRM Labs put it, criminal activity is a very small portion of the broader crypto ecosystem, estimated at less than 1% of total crypto transactions.
The FinCEN advisory underscores that traditional cash and bank‑based laundering still dwarf crypto‑related illicit volumes. Regulators and law enforcement are being urged to focus on the large, often hidden shadow systems that rely on banks and cash corridors as well as emerging digital rails.
