2. With the extensive coverage of international media, ICBC has been pushed to the forefront, and all kinds of exaggerated false statements have also been heated up. Legal experts and people of insight pointed out that the more in this crisis, the more objective and calm it is, and media trials cannot replace judicial trials.
3. According to Spanish media reports, on February 17, local time, more than 00 police officers from the Central Action Team of the Spanish National Guard 100, with the support of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, searched the office building of the Madrid Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with a search warrant from the seventh court of the Pará City Court, took away five senior managers including the president of the bank, copied the data in the bank computer, and temporarily blocked the bank.
4. In addition to the Spanish police, the anti-corruption special prosecutor's office and the tax authorities, the financial intelligence department under Europol also participated in the whole operation.
Activity details:
1. It is reported that this search operation is code-named "Ghost", which is the follow-up action of code-named "Snake" in May 20 15.
2. The "Snake" operation initiated by the Spanish police focused on cracking down on Chinese businessmen in the West who were suspected of money laundering, smuggling, tax evasion and organized crime.
3. In the "Snake" operation, 365,438+0 people were arrested, and 47 others were arraigned.
4. Spanish media quoted investigators as saying that during the "Snake" operation last year, the police found that some criminal suspects remitted a large amount of "black money" to China through ICBC Madrid Branch, and the amount involved was as high as 40 million euros. However, ICBC Madrid Branch did not check the source of the money as required and did not report it to the regulatory authorities.
Lawyer Ji replied:
Ji, the chief lawyer of China Law Firm in Spain, told this reporter that money laundering is not uncommon in Spanish and even European banking. In most cases, banks failed to review the source of funds or report to the regulatory authorities in time. Generally, the regulatory authorities will impose a fine on the relevant banks for violating the relevant laws and regulations on "anti-money laundering", and only less than 1% of the cases involve criminal offences. According to article 30 1 of the Spanish criminal law, only when the parties are aware of the illegal sources of funds, can they participate in or assist in the transfer of illegal funds, which constitutes the crime of money laundering. In this case, the Spanish police and investigation department, with the assistance of Europol, searched the Madrid branch of ICBC on the grounds of "anti-money laundering" and directly arrested five senior managers. This situation is rare, and it seems that they have some evidence.
Ji said that the amount involved in this case is huge and the case is complicated. The police and procuratorial organs will continue to conduct in-depth investigation and evidence collection of ICBC Madrid Branch and related personnel. The trial time of a case ranges from six months to three to five years, so ICBC and relevant parties need to be prepared for a "protracted war". According to the legal principle of "presumption of innocence", the parties concerned cannot be found guilty before the Spanish court pronounces a verdict, and the normal business of ICBC Madrid Branch will not be affected. It is reported that ICBC Madrid branch has resumed business after police search.
Ji Yuhong said that although it is understandable that the Madrid police handled the case according to law, they were suspected of "deliberately exaggerating the situation and creating a sensational effect". Before the "ghost" operation, the police had informed reporters from Spain's Le Monde and national television in advance. Before the search began, local reporters had set up equipment at the entrance of ICBC Madrid branch to prepare for filming. Spain's El Pais reported that ICBC Madrid Branch was suspected of "money laundering" amounting to 300 million euros. Le Monde quoted the head of the investigation agency as saying: "China Industrial and Commercial Bank Madrid Branch has a complete criminal network, which is responsible for money laundering in the name of the bank." Publicly making such remarks before the court has heard and decided is tantamount to replacing judicial trial with media trial, which seriously misleads public opinion.
At the same time, this incident has aroused widespread concern of international public opinion. Reuters, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and other western mainstream media all reported at the first time, focusing on "the largest state-owned bank in China and the largest commercial bank in the world whose assets are involved in money laundering crimes". Reuters's article also compares this case with the accusation of "assisting in money laundering" against Bank of China Milan Branch and China Construction Bank new york Branch last year, saying that this incident is the latest in a series of "money laundering scandals" in China's banking industry. However, some local "self-media" in Spain are "not too big", and they do not hesitate to make a fuss about it.
In view of the media hype, people in the industry and relevant parties have given different views. Mark Whiteman, a partner in Ernst & Young's asset management department, said that anti-money laundering is a challenge facing the world banking industry. If we rank the banks that have been punished for violating anti-money laundering laws in the world, the banks in China will definitely not rank first.
Oulang Com, Spain's largest Chinese-language online media, quoted the Consular Section of the China Embassy in Spain as saying that media reports should not only be for bloggers' attention, but all parties should treat this incident objectively and calmly.
Lawyer Ji stressed that the case is still under investigation and it is still too early to draw conclusions. We believe that Spanish courts can safeguard judicial justice, but we are against western media's wanton hype, which will damage the image of China enterprises and Chinese.
At a regular press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei 18 said that the China government has always required domestic enterprises to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of China and the countries or regions where they operate. We hope that the West will effectively handle relevant issues fairly according to law, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and personnel in the West, and effectively safeguard the healthy development of Sino-Western relations.