Suspected money laundering cases in Japan hit record high in 2022

TOKYO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A record 583,317 transactions of suspected money laundering were reported to Japanese authorities in 2022, up 53,167 from the previous year, National Police Agency data showed on Thursday.

Of the total, reports by banks accounted for 70 percent, while those by funds transfer service providers, which offer cashless payment services, nearly doubled to a record 20,271 cases, and those by cryptocurrency exchange operators jumped by 3,010 to a record 16,550.

Police made arrests or took other law enforcement actions on 994 of the total cases, of which 130 involved gang groups.

Under the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, financial institutions and others entities are obliged to notify the competent authorities of suspicious transactions that may be linked to money laundering.