Krishnamoorthi, Moolenaar Seek Information from PayPal on Compliance with U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Laws in Chinese Payment System Integration

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sent a bipartisan inquiry to PayPal CEO Alex Chriss seeking assurances that the company will fully comply with U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws in its new integrations with a Chinese payment system operated by Tencent.

Through this integration, PayPal users may be able to remit funds directly to and from Chinese digital wallets and bank accounts. The lawmakers seek assurances that PayPal will apply the same AML and Know-Your-Customer safeguards that apply to U.S. transactions to transactions routed to Weixin Pay through Tenpay.

U.S. authorities have repeatedly identified Weixin Pay as a hub for Chinese Money Laundering Organizations (CMLOs), including networks tied to fentanyl trafficking. Federal prosecutions have documented its role in “coordinating bulk-cash pickups and cross-border settlements, arranging sales of fentanyl precursor chemicals, and laundering fentanyl proceeds through the platform.” Treasury’s 2022 and 2024 National Money Laundering Risk Assessments similarly warned that the payment system is “a key method” for arranging bulk cash sales, while state attorneys general recently pointed to a pattern of “complicity in facilitating money laundering tied to fentanyl trafficking.”

The letter further notes “we acknowledge PayPal’s historical compliance efforts, such as its 2002 suspicious activity reporting that exposed fraud and laundering through stored-value cards. However, given the heightened risks associated with CMLOs and the technical complexities of integrating with a foreign platform like Weixin Pay, the Committee expects PayPal to demonstrate enhanced due diligence and robust controls tailored to these specific threats.”

To better understand PayPal’s compliance practices, the Committee is requesting agreements, compliance policies, risk assessments, and audit materials by October 3, 2025.

The letter is available HERE.

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