Chinese money laundering out of Spain was facilitated by the world’s biggest bank, claims part one of a Reuters report. Spanish authorities have been making arrests in the money laundering case allegedly involving the Chinese state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), in a case they suspect involves up to EUR 1.2 bn in missing funds. Wiretaps and the investigation ultimately led to Spanish police going into the Madrid branch of ICBC and arresting executives. The operation is based on transferring illegal funds from Chinese organized crime and tax [redacted], causing considerable stress to the Spanish government at a time of austerity and economic stagnation. The case revolves around bank employees not reporting transfers up to the standard of Spanish law, using unauthorized accounts to split up large transfers into many small parts and using a network of Chinese citizens living in Spain to perform transfers. ICBC is now facing a clampdown in other European countries as more investigations take place in places like Luxembourg and Italy, creating complications on the diplomatic level between the EU and China, two of the largest economic powerhouses globally.