Companies have “faked, forged, and illegally reused” trade documents to sneak $10 billion of hot money in and out of China since April of this year, a Chinese official announced yesterday.
A multi-month investigation into China’s dodgy export and import numbers has revealed the latest invoicing scams, said Wu Ruilin, a deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, reported China Daily today.
Much of the financial funny business was carried out through the port of Qingdao, where a commodity financing scandal was unearthed earlier, he added. The fraudulent trades have “increased pressure from hot money inflows and provided an illegal channel for criminals to move funds,” Wu said, adding that they had also distorted trade data.
China’s long-standing problem with false invoicing got an added level of official scrutiny after unusually high export numbers early last year. Companies have long inflated export numbers to disguise capital inflows, often aiming to benefit from China’s appreciating currency or to invest in property when that market was still hot. Exaggerating imports has been used to spirit money out of China, by contrast.
The practices of China’s banks will now be in the spotlight, as they have failed in “verifying the authenticity of the deals, which helped increase the fraudulent activities,” China Daily reported Wu as saying. All told, the foreign exchange regulator found 967 separate illicit foreign-exchange transactions through August, and imposed 180 million yuan (almost $30 million) in fines. The investigation now covers 24 provinces and cities across China.
via Fake Trade Documents Sneak Money in and Out of China – Businessweek.
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