AARON KROLIK2026年10月12日中国的地区性银行浙江稠州商业银行在吉尔吉斯斯坦、蒙古、哈萨克斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦拥有大量业务，这些国家与俄罗斯有密切的经济联系。 Costfoto/NurPhoto, via Getty ImagesThe Bank of America account ending in 0252 was not what you might expect.这个尾号为0252的美国银行账户并非你想象的那样。It did not belong to a person or a business. In fact, the money did not belong to any single entity.它不属于某个人或某家企业。事实上，账户里的钱不属于任何单一实体。The account had funds pooled from countless customers of Zhejiang Chouzhou Commercial Bank, a regional lender in the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu.账户汇集了众多浙江稠州商业银行客户的钱款。这家地区性银行位于中国东部城市义乌。And among Chouzhou Bank’s customers were Russian front companies that had burrowed into the global financial system as part of a sprawling effort to evade Western sanctions, a New York Times analysis of thousands of financial documents and bank transactions found.《纽约时报》对数千份金融文件和银行交易的分析发现，稠州商业银行的客户包括俄罗斯的幌子公司。它们作为规避西方制裁的庞大行动的一部分，已潜入全球金融体系。Chouzhou Bank provides what are known as correspondent services, a common banking practice that allows local banks to offer international services across many currencies to customers without opening branches abroad.稠行提供所谓的代理行服务。这是一种常见的银行业务，允许本地银行无需在海外开设分行，就能为客户提供多种货币的国际服务。Chouzhou is one of many institutions that have found a lucrative business as middlemen in places where Western banks are reluctant to serve. Often, smaller banks hire banks like Chouzhou that have correspondent accounts at big Wall Street firms, creating a nesting doll effect in the financial system that can mask illicit activity.在西方银行不愿服务的地区，许多机构充当中间人，找到了有利可图的业务，稠行便是其中之一。通常，较小的银行会聘用像稠行这样在华尔街大公司拥有代理账户的银行，从而在金融系统中形成一种套娃效应，可以掩盖非法活动。Since the invasion of Ukraine four years ago, finding and exploiting weak links in the correspondent system has become an important part of Russia’s effort to sidestep U.S. economic restrictions, the Times analysis shows.时报分析显示，自四年前入侵乌克兰以来，寻找并利用代理行系统中的薄弱环节已成为俄罗斯规避美国经济限制努力的重要组成部分。In addition to legitimate clients, more than 50 companies that sold restricted electronics, industrial chemicals, and other goods and services to Russia in the first four months of 2025 held accounts at Chouzhou.除了合法客户外，2025年前四个月向俄罗斯出售受限电子产品、工业化学品及其他商品和服务的50多家公司也在稠行持有账户。Many of the documents reviewed by The Times were generated by A7, a Moscow-based financial services firm. A trove of its records from early 2025 was posted online by hackers. In addition, The Times obtained and analyzed thousands of business transactions and other documents from internal databases that the firm had left unsecured online. Chouzhou Bank appeared repeatedly throughout the documents, providing a detailed example of the role that correspondent services play in sanctions evasion.时报审阅的许多文件来自总部位于莫斯科的金融服务公司A7。黑客在网上发布了该公司2025年初的大量记录。此外，时报还获取并分析了数千笔商业交易和其他文件，这些来自该公司在网上未受保护的内部数据库。稠行在文件中反复出现，为代理行服务在制裁规避中所起的作用提供了一个详细例证。A7 did not respond to a request for comment. The Times reported last month that A7 helps Russian businesses evade economic restrictions by sending money abroad to buy goods, often through shell companies that have little purpose other than to mask such purchases.A7未回应置评请求。时报上个月报道，A7通过将资金汇往国外购买商品，帮助俄罗斯企业规避经济限制，通常是通过除了掩盖此类采购外别无其他目的的空壳公司。One shell company working on behalf of A7 in Kyrgyzstan made more than $10 million of restricted purchases during that period through a bank that held an account at Chouzhou.通过一家在稠行持有账户的银行，一家在吉尔吉斯斯坦代表A7工作的空壳公司在此期间进行了超过1000万美元的受限采购。In other instances, Russian companies bought industrial goods, including precision grinding machines that could be used to manufacturer components for weapons.还有一些俄罗斯公司购买了工业产品，包括可用于制造武器部件的精密磨床。In January 2025, transaction documents show, a Russian company bought $73,000 of components used to build electronic warfare systems. The parts were supplied by a Hong Kong distributor with a history of sales to Russian buyers, according to trade data.交易文件显示，2025年1月，一家俄罗斯公司购买了价值7.3万美元的组件，用于制造电子战系统。贸易数据显示，这些部件由一家有向俄罗斯买家销售历史的香港分销商供应。To complete the sale, First Abu Dhabi Bank, an Emirati bank, arranged to have the money sent to Chouzhou’s account at Bank of America.为完成这笔交易，阿联酋的第一阿布扎比银行安排将资金汇至稠行在美国银行的账户。As is standard practice in correspondent transactions, Bank of America received money transfer orders, but not details about the purchase itself. That allowed the nature of the goods, and who was buying them, to be obscured as the sale worked its way through the international banking system.按照代理行交易的标准做法，美国银行收到了汇款指令，但不会得到有关采购本身的细节。这使得货物的性质以及买家的身份在交易通过国际银行系统进行时得以被掩盖。Without explanation in June 2025, Bank of America ended its relationship with Chouzhou Bank, closing Account 0252, whose existence was disclosed on a Kyrgyz bank website. Chouzhou has continued to provide access to the dollar — through Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered — for dozens of banks that otherwise lack direct access to the U.S. financial system, including in countries that have close economic ties to Russia, The Times found.2025年6月，美国银行在没有解释的情况下终止了与稠行的关系，关闭了0252账户。该账户的存在曾在一家吉尔吉斯斯坦银行网站上披露。时报发现，稠行继续通过花旗银行、摩根大通和渣打银行为数十家原本无法直接进入美国金融系统的银行提供美元通道，其中包括与俄罗斯有密切经济联系的国家。Chouzhou did not respond to detailed requests for comment. Reached in person at a banking conference in Miami in late September, a manager for the bank’s correspondent banking division declined to comment.稠行未回应详细的置评请求。9月下旬在迈阿密举行的一次银行业会议上，本报得以面见该行代理行部门的一位经理，对方拒绝置评。Representatives from Bank of America, Citigroup, Standard Chartered and First Abu Dhabi all said that they worked closely with law enforcement officials and governments. The representatives added that their banks regularly monitored correspondent activity and reported suspicious activity to the authorities in order to identify and help disrupt illicit banking networks.美国银行、花旗集团、渣打银行和第一阿布扎比银行的代表均表示，他们与执法官员和政府密切合作。这些代表补充说，他们的银行定期监控代理行活动，并向当局报告可疑活动，以识别并帮助破坏非法银行网络。While a spokeswoman for Citi and a spokesman for First Abu Dhabi said they would not comment on specific customers, all four banks emphasized that they maintained rigorous internal controls to combat money laundering, sanctions evasion and other financial crimes. JPMorgan declined to comment.尽管花旗和第一阿布扎比的发言人都表示不会对特定客户置评，但四家银行均强调，他们保持着严格的内部控制，以打击洗钱、制裁规避和其他金融犯罪。摩根大通拒绝置评。An essential piece of plumbing必不可少的基础设施The correspondent banking system is an opaque and antiquated yet essential piece of financial plumbing that underpins international finance. It has played a crucial role in making the dollar the dominant currency for international trade and giving the United States unmatched leverage over financial transactions.作为国际金融的支柱，代理行系统是一个不透明且陈旧但又必不可少的金融管道。它在使美元成为国际贸易主导货币以及赋予美国在金融交易中无可比拟的影响力方面发挥了至关重要的作用。Here’s how it works: Imagine that a fabric exporter in rural China wants to sell its goods to customers abroad. It would be impractical for the exporter, or even its local bank, to maintain accounts in every country and in every currency that its customers might want to use.其运作方式如下：想象一下，中国农村的一家面料出口商想向海外客户出售商品。对于该出口商，甚至其当地银行来说，在客户可能想要使用的每个国家和每种货币中维护账户是不切实际的。Correspondent banking solves this problem. The exporter’s local Chinese bank holds dollar, euro and other currency accounts at a select few global banks. Through those accounts, the Chinese bank gains access to the broad networks of those international banks, allowing its customers to send and receive international payments and convert proceeds into local currencies.代理行解决了这个问题。出口商的当地中资银行在少数全球银行持有美元、欧元和其他货币账户。通过这些账户，中资银行获得了这些国际银行的广泛网络，使其客户能够收发国际支付，并将收益兑换成本地货币。By its nature, however, the correspondent system can add distance between big banks and small companies seeking to circumvent their controls. Big banks often delegate the vetting of customers and transactions to smaller banks further down the correspondent chain.然而，代理行系统本质上会在大银行与试图规避其控制的小公司之间增加距离。大银行通常将客户和交易的审查委托给代理链下游的小银行。When new regulations were put in place to stop terror financing after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, banks began cutting correspondent relationships around the globe.2001年9月11日袭击后为阻断恐怖主义资金渠道而实施了新规，银行随即开始在全球范围内削减代理行关系。Sudan, which the United States labeled a state sponsor of terrorism, was hit especially hard. Many banks stopped handling payments from the country, raising fears that it could be cut off from the global financial system and pushed toward shadow banking networks in order to supply its citizens with even basic necessities.被美国列为支持恐怖主义国家的苏丹受到的打击尤其严重。许多银行停止处理来自该国的付款，引发其被隔绝于全球金融体系之外的担忧，哪怕国民的最基本需求都被迫要转向影子银行网络。Since then, regulators have tried to balance the risk of sanctions evasion with the goal of keeping the dollar used around the world. In 2016, the Treasury Department issued guidance that said banks did not need to individually vet their correspondent’s clients, a practice called “know your customer’s customer.”自那以后，监管机构一直试图在制裁规避风险与保持美元在全球使用这一目标之间取得平衡。2016年，美国财政部发布指引称，银行无需逐一审查其代理行客户——也就是所谓“了解你的客户的客户”的原则。When transactions pass through an American bank, the Treasury Department has broad jurisdiction to regulate and police the activity. Last month, for example, the U.S. government issued economic restrictions against two foreign banks that used the correspondent system to help Iran gain access to the dollar system in order to launder money and evade sanctions on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.当交易通过美国银行时，美国财政部拥有广泛的管辖权来监管和监督该活动。例如，上个月，美国政府对外国银行实施经济限制，这两家银行利用代理行系统帮助伊朗进入美元体系，以便为伊斯兰革命卫队洗钱和规避制裁。U.S. banks can face legal liability for processing restricted transactions even when acting only as a correspondent for another financial institution. However, the Treasury Department has discretion over the cases it pursues.即使仅作为另一家金融机构的代理行处理受限交易，美国银行也可能面临法律责任。然而，美国财政部对追查哪些案件拥有自由裁量权。Depending on the extent of the illicit activity and the level of the bank’s due diligence, it would be difficult to imagine an American bank being penalized for unwittingly playing a role in a sophisticated sanctions evasion scheme, according to a former senior Treasury official who was not authorized to speak publicly about enforcement procedures.据一位未获授权公开谈论执法程序的前财政部高级官员称，很难想象一家美国银行会因在复杂的制裁规避计划中无意中发挥作用而受到处罚，具体要看非法活动的情节和银行尽职调查的水平。A critical lifeline一条关键的生命线Chouzhou was founded in Yiwu in 1987 and grew as the midsize Chinese trading city blossomed into a manufacturing hub for goods that are sent around the world.稠州商业银行于1987年在义乌成立，随着这座中国中型贸易城市发展成为向世界各地输送商品的制造业中心而成长。Over the years, it carved out a niche by offering correspondent services to dozens of banks in countries identified by Western officials as high risk for money laundering or sanctions evasion, including Afghanistan, Yemen and South Sudan, according to the documents obtained by The Times and data from BankCheck, a correspondent banking compliance platform.据时报获得的文件以及代理行合规平台BankCheck的数据，多年来，通过向西方官员认定为洗钱或制裁规避高风险的数十个国家的银行提供代理行服务，这家银行开辟了一个利基市场，这些国家包括阿富汗、也门和南苏丹。Chouzhou has an especially large presence in Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Uzbekistan — countries with close economic ties to Russia that have become important hubs for rerouted trade.稠行在吉尔吉斯斯坦、格鲁吉亚和乌兹别克斯坦尤其活跃，这些国家与俄罗斯有密切经济联系，已成为改道贸易的重要枢纽。According to the BankCheck data, Chouzhou provides access to dollar accounts to nearly 70 other banks, most of which otherwise lack direct access to the U.S. financial system. Those banks, in turn, market dollar accounts to their customers.根据BankCheck数据，稠行为近70家其他银行提供美元账户通道，其中大多数原本无法直接进入美国金融系统。这些银行反过来又向客户推销美元账户。By comparison, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest bank in the world by assets, provides dollar access to 20 banks. HSBC Bank in London provides just seven dollar correspondent accounts to other banks, BankCheck data shows.相比之下，按资产计全球最大的银行中国工商银行为20家银行提供美元通道。BankCheck数据显示，伦敦的汇丰银行仅向其他银行提供七个美元代理账户。In 2024, Chouzhou processed more than $200 billion in international transactions, according to a bond prospectus, nearly four times the amount of its total assets. But that is likely a small fraction of its activity now: At the financial services conference in Miami last month, Chouzhou advertised relationships with more than 1,000 banks and the ability to process payments in 27 currencies.根据一份债券招股说明书，2024年，稠行处理了超过2000亿美元的国际交易，将近其总资产的四倍。但这可能只是其当前活动的一小部分：在上个月迈阿密的金融服务会议上，稠行宣传其与1000多家银行保持着关系，有能力处理27种货币支付。Chouzhou stopped processing transactions directly with Russian and Belarusian banks in early 2024, according to news releases and trade documents. But it has continued working with customers and banks in countries considered high risk for Russian sanctions evasion.据新闻稿和贸易文件，稠行于2024年初停止直接处理与俄罗斯和白俄罗斯银行的交易。但它继续与被视为俄罗斯制裁规避高风险国家的客户和银行合作。Soon after Bank of America ended its relationship with Chouzhou last year, the Chinese bank opened two new dollar accounts at Citibank and Standard Chartered, BankCheck data shows.BankCheck数据显示，去年美国银行终止与稠行的关系后不久，这家中国银行在花旗银行和渣打银行开设了两个新的美元账户。The accounts remain open.这些账户至今仍正常使用。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。