Chinese national legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, Saturday started to deliberate a draft amendment to the penal code which will make whitewashing embezzled funds and money resulted from financial crime punishable by law.
   
An official with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee said on Saturday that the draft law widens the scope of upstream crimes constituting money laundering from the four kinds provided by existing laws, namely unlawful incomes and related earnings of narcotics crimes, organized crimes of sinister gang nature, crimes of terrorist activities and smuggling crimes, to six kinds added by incomes of corruption crimes and financial fraud crimes.
   
"The additions are made to strengthen the crackdown on corruption and financial crimes, which are crucial for the financial security of the country and stemming the outflow of public funds," he told lawmakers at the Great Hall of the People.
   
According to the law, perpetrators of the crime may face imprisonment up to 10 years in addition to heavy fines.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2005)