Officials caution Congress about the growing threat posed by Chinese money laundering criminals collaborating with Mexican cartels.

This week, members of Congress were cautioned by officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Treasury Department about the growing risks associated with Chinese money laundering.

On Tuesday, U.S. senators were repeatedly warned during a hearing on Capitol Hill about the influx of money into the United States from illegal sources linked to China, which is being used to fund the illegal drug trade, including fentanyl, from Mexico.

Mexican drug traffickers have chosen Chinese-based criminals as their preferred money launderers, according to Kemp Chester of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, who spoke to lawmakers.

Chinese money laundering organizations have expanded in recent years, enabling offenders to launder dirty money and clean it in minutes with the help of new technology, according to authorities. On Tuesday, DEA and Treasury officials stated that the opioid supply chain is funded in part by money-laundering operations that originate in China.

According to William Kimbell, chief of operations at the DEA, Chinese money laundering organizations have access to well-established money laundering networks operating in most metropolitan areas in the United States through their relationship with Mexican cartels.

A Chinese money laundering cell with nearly $100 million in drug proceeds for a Mexican drug trafficking organization was recently busted by the Department of Justice.

In March, a grand jury charged Enhua Fang, a North Carolina woman residing in Utah, with receiving requests from Mexican drug-trafficking organizations for bulk cash pickups in the United States.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse stated on Tuesday that for every gram of fentanyl sold in America, there is a corresponding chemical supply chain for every dollar of illicit fentanyl sold in the country. It is crucial to prevent the concealment of dirty money in our country or on its way back into the hands of cartels, terrorists, and other transnational criminals.

In March, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed money laundering with Chinese officials while in China. Since then, Yellen and her team have remained involved in US working groups to gather more information and combat the issue.