June 10, 2016
The Madrid branch of Chinese bank ICBC received cash in rucksacks and boxes from Chinese criminal groups in Spain and wired the money to accounts in China under a $100-million money-laundering scheme, Spanish prosecutors say.
Details of the allegations against ICBC are made public for the first time in a court document summarising an investigation into the alleged scam, nearly four months after police raided the state-owned bank’s Madrid office and arrested six directors.
In the document, which was drawn up by the prosecution but has attracted little attention since it was published this week, prosecutors describe ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by assets, as a “money laundering channel” between two criminal groups.
If found guilty of failing to comply with international regulations on money laundering, ICBC could face an unspecified fine. The case could also lead to a review of its Spanish banking licence.
Three of the ICBC directors arrested in February, including Madrid branch chief Wei Liu and European head Liu Gang, were provisionally released from custody in April after a court decided there was no flight risk and dismissed concerns that they might destroy evidence.