The proposed purchase of money-transfer firm MoneyGram by Alibaba-affiliate Ant Financial has hit a political roadblock, with two members of the US House of Representatives urging a "full and thorough" investigation of the deal. If completed, the acquisition would give China access to US financial infrastructure, thereby posing "significant national security risks", said Congressman Kevin Yoder and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In an open letter sent on Tuesday, they called for "a full and thorough investigation" into whether China's state-owned banks are being used as fronts for money laundering or other illicit activities.
The proposed purchase of money-transfer firm MoneyGram by Alibaba-affiliate Ant Financial has hit a political roadblock, with two members of the US House of Representatives urging a "full and thorough" investigation of the deal. If completed, the acquisition would give China access to US financial infrastructure, thereby posing "significant national security risks", said Congressman Kevin Yoder and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, both officials recommended that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US scrutinise the deal before it can proceed.