EPPO and China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Sign Cooperation Arrangement on Money Laundering and Asset Recovery
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate signed a working arrangement on 4 September 2026 to strengthen judicial cooperation on organised crime, money laundering, corruption and the recovery of illicit assets.
The arrangement was signed in Luxembourg by European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi and China’s Chief Grand Prosecutor Ying Yong. According to the EPPO, it sets out practical modalities for cooperation between the two prosecutorial authorities within their respective legal frameworks.
Money laundering and illicit-asset recovery included in cooperation scope
The EPPO said the arrangement is intended in particular to intensify cooperation against organised crime groups affecting the financial interests of the European Union, as well as money laundering and corruption. It also aims to improve the effectiveness of recovering illicit assets.
The two authorities have paired the working arrangement with a 2026–2028 action plan designed to develop more efficient cooperation practices in these areas.
The agreement builds on earlier contacts between the two prosecution services. In September 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate said its officials had discussed cooperation on economic crime with senior EPPO representatives, including the EPPO’s role in cross-border financial-crime cases.
The new arrangement is a cooperation framework rather than a criminal enforcement action or a change to AML rules. Its significance for financial-crime practitioners lies in the potential for more structured cross-border coordination where suspected laundering, corruption or asset recovery involves both Chinese and EU interests.
