In mid-May, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced on his official website that he is leading a bipartisan alliance composed of six state attorneys general to investigate the links between Chinese communication and payment platform WeChat and money laundering and fentanyl sales in the United States.
In his announcement, he stated: “Fentanyl has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the United States. In North Carolina, fentanyl continues to have a devastating impact, with an average of about six people dying each day from overdose, becoming the leading cause of death due to drug overdose among individuals under the age of 45 in the state.”
“Criminal organizations are actively using WeChat to transfer and conceal illegal profits from fentanyl sales,” he said. “Such criminal activities pose a direct threat to the lives of people in North Carolina and across the country. We are demanding that WeChat clarify within the next 30 days what specific measures they are taking to stop the large-scale money laundering activities that are happening on their platform every day.”
WeChat is one of the largest communication platforms globally, with over one billion users, including millions in the United States and thousands in North Carolina. The announcement pointed out: “The platform’s encrypted messaging function and integrated payment services create a conducive environment for significant financial crimes, particularly related to fentanyl sales and money laundering activities. Investigations by law enforcement and financial crime agencies have found that fentanyl traffickers often use WeChat to discuss and coordinate money laundering. The encryption of WeChat enables these criminal groups to secretly transfer millions of dollars from the United States to China, ultimately flowing back to Mexico, a major producer of fentanyl.”
In the United States, knowingly aiding in money laundering is illegal. Under Attorney General Jackson’s leadership, attorneys general from South Carolina, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Colorado jointly wrote to WeChat, requesting a response within 30 days detailing the concrete measures taken to curb such illegal activities.
Recent investigations into multiple criminal cases have highlighted WeChat’s significant role in money laundering activities related to fentanyl:
In 2021, Xizhi Li was convicted for running a transnational criminal network using WeChat to coordinate large cash transfers between a Chinese bank and a drug trafficking group.
In 2023, during “Operation Chem Capture,” eight companies and 12 individuals were indicted for selling fentanyl precursor chemicals, with transactions conducted through WeChat.
The collaboration between the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel and Chinese money laundering networks frequently uses WeChat to withdraw cash, exchange currency, and repatriate drug profits.
In 2024, in a federal lawsuit in South Carolina, three defendants were charged with participating in an international conspiracy for allegedly using WeChat to launder money and convert profits from fentanyl sales into cash.
Despite concrete evidence of criminal activities, WeChat has yet to address the issue of criminals using its platform for illicit activities.