(Illegal Funds. Photo by Naijaonpoint)
A Chinese national has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a U.S. federal judge for his role in an international money laundering network that processed over $92 million in illegal funds.
Jianfei Lu, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday in North Carolina by Judge Susan C. Rodriguez.
He was also ordered to forfeit $25 million.
The illegal funds that his network laundered included proceeds from drug trafficking, with drugs primarily being smuggled into the United States through Mexico.
According to court documents, Lu was a key courier for the Chinese money laundering organisation.
He collected drug proceeds from drug traffickers operating in the United States and deposited the money into shell company bank accounts using both real and fake identities
. As a courier, Lu personally handled and deposited more than $20 million in illegal cash.
Beyond his work as a courier, Lu also managed the organisation.
He communicated directly with drug traffickers in the U.S. and assigned other couriers to pick up and deposit bulk cash.
Lu also obtained fake driver’s licences that the couriers used when depositing illegal funds at major American banks.
Law enforcement seized approximately $670,000 in U.S. currency and 12 firearms from a drug trafficking organisation that used the money laundering network.
Lu pleaded guilty in July 2025 to money laundering conspiracy and related charges.
During his guilty plea, he admitted he had knowledge of laundering between $25 million and $65 million in illegal funds and knew the money included drug trafficking proceeds.
An assistant attorney general from the U.S. Justice Department noted that Chinese money laundering networks have become an important tool for Mexican drug cartels to move their profits.
