The US$144 million in dirty cash that no money launderer in China would touch
- Shenzhen official Li Huanan offered up to half of his haul to any underground banker willing to move his illicit fortune abroad – but found no takers
The potential payday was huge, but a senior law enforcer in China’s southern tech hub still failed to tempt even the most avaricious money launderer to move his billion-yuan stash of ill-gotten cash across the border into Hong Kong.
Li Huanan, the 59-year-old deputy Communist Party chief of Shenzhen, had offered up to half of his haul – or more than US$70 million – to any underground banker willing to take up the challenge, according to a source with direct knowledge of the case.
“Li tried to ask through a middleman to see if money launderers could help move his 1 billion yuan [US$144 million] in cash overseas, offering lucrative rewards,” the source said.
But none dared to accept the offer, and the cash remained stacked in one of Li’s properties in Shenzhen until it was seized by officers from the party’s anti-corruption watchdog on October 9.
Li, the third-ranking official in the city, was taken away for questioning on suspicion of seriously violating party discipline, a euphemism for corruption.
