Yesterday, I had the honor of testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions.  The title of the hearing was "Follow the Money: The CCP’s Business Model Fueling the Fentanyl Crisis."

Here is a link to the video of the hearing:

My new book "China Specified Unlawful Activities:  CCP Inc., Transnational Crime and Money Laundering" should be released next week.   It will be available via Amazon.  

Researching and writing this book has been eye opening.  In sum, I am staggered by the totality of CCP Inc. criminality, Chinese-centric money laundering methodologies, and whole-of-society enablers.  

I use a law enforcement prism to peel back the PRC’s hidden involvement in the global illicit economy.  The book begins with Part I’s exploration of China’s involvement in the top 12 categories of transnational crime or specified unlawful activities for money laundering.  They include Counterfeit Goods; Narcotics; Intellectual Property Theft and Trade Secrets; Human Trafficking; Wildlife Trafficking; Illegal Logging; Illegal Fishing; Illicit Tobacco; Trade Fraud; Arms Trafficking and WMD Proliferation; and Organ Harvesting.  CCP Inc.’s involvement in the above SUAs total approximately $2 trillion a year or roughly half of the money laundered globally.  Part II covers China-centric money laundering methodologies including Flying Money; Black Market Exchanges; Chinese Underground Banking Systems; Capital Flight; Gambling; Real Estate; and Offshores and Secrecy Jurisdictions.  Part III covers Chinese corruption (also a SUA) and details how it is exported abroad via mercantilism, corrosive capital/predatory lending, and its Belt and Road Initiative.  Part IV discusses a few important enablers such as Chinese Organized Crime; Espionage; Social Monitoring, a Cashless Society, the Rise of a Chinese National Digital Currency; Free Trade Zones; the lack of Enforcement and AML Compliance; Communism and Immorality; and the Complicit West. 

I conclude the book with some final thoughts and recommendations.  

I would like to thank David Luna of International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) for writing the foreword.

As I make clear in the Introduction, this book is not about bashing China, Chinese, or Asians.  This book is about the CCP’s involvement in criminality.  The Chinese people themselves are primary victims.

I hope you find the book insightful.  Let me know. 

I'm on the final stretch completing my new book, "China - Specified Unlawful Activities: CCP Inc., Transnational Crime and Money Laundering."  The manuscript is with the line editor right now.    So far, I have been able to adhere to my internal timeline.  I believe the book will be out no later than March 1.  Here is the back cover blurb:

 Communist China is an ideological, military, economic, technical, commercial, intelligence, and diplomatic rival of the U.S. and the West. China has a growing exploitative presence in the developing world. While these threats are known, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) working with big business or - CCP Inc’s. - involvement with transnational crime and money laundering is not. Former CIA intelligence officer and Treasury Special Agent John Cassara is the first to examine CCP Inc. from a comprehensive law enforcement perspective. 
China - Specified Unlawful Activities: CCP Inc., Transnational Crime and Money Laundering examines 12 categories of CCP Inc. criminal activities, as well as exposing money laundering methodologies with "Chinese characteristics," CCP Inc. mercantilism and corrosive capital, and various pernicious enablers.  The author puts it all together and explains the convergence.  The totality of CCP Inc.’s transnational criminality and money laundering is truly staggering.  It impacts all of us.  Combining facts, straight-forward explanations, case studies, as well as the author’s personal experiences, views and commentary, this book is valuable to the public and private sectors, law enforcement, policy makers, the financial intelligence community as well as students and concerned citizens.
As a former Treasury Special Agent, John Cassara has investigated and studied transnational crime and money laundering for over 30 years.  Equally at home in back streets or government bureaucracies, he has a unique perspective and offers an insider’s knowledge.  He delights in telling it as it is.  The author of six books and countless articles on money laundering and threat finance, Cassara continues to surface important issues that deserve our attention.

Today, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) released a report titled "Made in China - China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows."  Even though the report has me down as co-author, the report was written by GFI's Channing Mavrellis. I suggested the topic to GFI.   (Full disclosure: I'm on the Board of Directors of GFI).   Chaning did an excellent job examining four Specified Unlawful Activities for international money laundering where China is the dominant player.  She also includes some excellent analysis of other factors relating to what I call CCP Inc. criminality and money laundering.  The report is available here:  gfintegrity.org/report/made-in-china/

The manuscript of my new book is progressing nicely.  I estimate that the rough draft is about half complete.   I also have developed a working title:  Specified Unlawful Activities: Communist China, Transnational Crime, and Money Laundering.   As the reader knows, specified unlawful activities or SUAs, sometimes called predicate offenses, are those crimes used to charge money laundering.   As I research and write, I am learning a lot.  And I am staggered by my findings.  The totality of criminality is breathtaking.   I hope to have the book out by early next year. 

In 2020, my book Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flows: Following the Money and Value Trails was released.  In the book, I included a chapter titled “China: The Biggest Money Laundering Threat.”  That chapter gave me an idea for a new book.  The more I examine China/CCP’s transnational criminality and money laundering the more fascinated, staggered, and worried I become.

So, my goal with this new book is to examine present day China from a law enforcement perspective – something that to my knowledge has not been done before.

I believe this is an important, timely, and practical subject because China’s criminality effects Americans and people around the world: from the counterfeit goods purchased via Amazon and e-commerce, to the opioid and fentanyl trafficking that have killed hundreds of thousands, to the threat China’s shadow banking system poses to the world economic order, to the heart wrenching trafficking involving human beings, flora and fauna, to the largest transfer of wealth in human history caused by China/CCP’s theft of intellectual property, as well as so many other threats, criminal enablers, and Chinese-centric money laundering methodologies.  Putting everything together is eye opening.  My goal is that when the reader finishes this new book he or she will also be stunned by the totality of China’s ongoing criminality and money laundering.

Somedays I sit down for hours at a time engaged with research and writing.  I enjoy it.   And sometimes I have conflicts or decide I would rather work out in my garden, go for a hike, go kayaking, or play with my grandchildren.  Nevertheless, I started this new book at the beginning of this year, and I hope to have it completed about the beginning of 2023.  We shall see. . . 

George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government's Terrorism and Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) will be offering a new course on "Terrorism, Crime, Money Laundering, and Illicit Finance from Authoritarian States."  The executive certificate program begins October 12 and runs until November 11, 2021.  There will be two sessions a week (ten sessions in total) and each seminar is 60 minutes.  I will be one of the instructors.  I'm honored to be joined by a distinguished cadre of other instructors with tremendous experience in transnational crime and illicit economies.  This course is a natural sequitur of previous TraCCC courses I have participated in on trade-based money laundering, illicit financial flows, and other topics.  The focus on authoritarian states underlines my concern about China and the CCP's leading role in global money laundering.  The webinar sessions will be recorded and available to be viewed at a later date and time.   See the following link for additional course information and registration:  AITI Courses (gmu.edu)

I was invited to discuss a range of AML/CFT issues with Ian Henderson, CEO of Kyckr.   See the below link to the approximately 30 minute recording.  I hope you enjoy it.   
​ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-5-john-cassara/id1568948698?i=1000526526569

Yesterday I was honored with an invitation to address Congressman Robert Pittenger's international Parliamentary and Security Forum.    My remarks focused on the key or the most important countermeasure to successfully combat trade-based money laundering  (TBML).  The link is below.   I  speak for about 11 minutes and my remarks begin around the 34:30 mark.   The Forums, both live and via Zoom, are primarily for international parliamentarians and policy makers.   They concentrate on various security issues.   The sessions are well done and very informative.
  pittenger.zoom.us/rec/play/tEsBjbxeyUGrjl-G94kSTO2cO8O3TvuRg9OQ8QrMZ8FtcDpes5L58KhOx7UUDgPD4PVk8gzt7KI4PGVb.AZ07IJxGbaaOIezj?startTime=1623160345000&_x_zm_rtaid=rkR8kj8hS22EX3MUQcLlHw.1623236847919.2c3f7d6b691d5b77876157df8a9c6075&_x_zm_rhtaid=116

I'm honored to be on the Board of Directors of Global Financial Integrity - a Washington D.C. based non-profit that does excellent work bring attention to issues surrounding money laundering and illicit financial flows.   Today, GFI released a paper on "Reimagining FinCEN."  In the United States, when we talk about issues surrounding money laundering the common denominator is FinCEN.  That is not to blame FinCEN for all of our struggles; but a new and improved FinCEN is absolutely essential if we are going to seriously attempt to get a handle on money laundering and related issues.   Here is a paper that is a definitely "outside the beltway."  No surprise, there are a lot of my fingerprints all over it :)

gfintegrity.org/press-release/policy-paper-provides-recommendations-to-improve-fincens-role-in-national-security/