Suspect forex deals rise 12-fold

Reported suspicious foreign exchange transactions rose 12-fold last year over 2004, according to a central bank study released Thursday. The China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center received reports of 1.988 million suspect foreign exchange deals, while questionable yuan transactions numbered 283,400, seven times the 2004 figure. Money laundering has been identified by the government as a key target in its anti-corruption efforts, the South China Morning Post reported. New legislation is currently under discussion in the National People's Congress. Yu Guangyan, an official on the NPC Standing Committee's Budgetary Work Commission, told state media that the law would "help quickly detect illegal money transfers, deter upstream crimes and cut financing of new crimes, and maintain the security of financial markets".