Apr.28, 2010, 11:50, Source: chinadaily

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, launched 3,149 money laundering investigations and reported 654 cases to authorities in 2009, involving a total of 371 billion yuan ($54 billion), the bank said Tuesday in a statement on its website.

The bank helped authorities in 970 money laundering cases, in which 301 billion yuan was involved; it also helped uncover 195 suspected money laundering cases, with 42 billion yuan being involved, the statement said.

Money laundering cases were mainly linked to corruption, bribery, mafia-style gang activities, financial crimes and drug trafficking, according to the statement.