美国司法部
华盛顿哥伦比亚特区
2021年10月6日
华盛顿——一名中国公民被判犯有联邦洗钱罪，今天被判处38个月监禁和1年监督释放。 
康俊涛（音译），25岁，来自中国杭州市，此前已在新泽西州（New Jersey）卡姆登（Camden）的美国地区法院（U.S. District Court）认罪，承认资助一个全国范围的团伙，将至少1500只受保护的龟类从美国走私到香港，价值超过225万美元。法院还指令康交付1万美元罚金，等同于他在美国所持有的总资产。 
至少从2017年6月12日到2018年12月3日，康招募了一个偷猎者、货运人和中间人网络，非法获取并出口龟类。他通过包括新泽西一家银行在内的美国银行发送钱款，支付这些龟类及其运送费用。他安排在中国宠物市场非法出售这些龟类，每只售价数千美元。 
康从未进入过美国，但美国的洗钱法规定有权管辖在境外通过美国金融系统发送超过1万美元用于助长特定非法活动的人，例如走私野生生物。 
为推进美国将其暂时拘捕以便引渡的请求，马来西亚皇家警察（Royal Malaysia Police）于2019年1月23日在康前往吉隆坡（Kuala Lumpur）时逮捕了他。依据美国和马来西亚政府之间的引渡条约，康于2020年12月被引渡到美国在新泽西地区（District of New Jersey）接受庭审。 
司法部环境和自然资源局（Environment and Natural Resources Division）的助理部长（Assistant Attorney General）托德·金（Todd Kim）表示：“司法部将严厉起诉为非法走私野生生物提供资金并从中牟利的人，即使他们是在国外从事这类活动的。” 
美国鱼类及野生生物管理局执法办公室（U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement）助理局长爱德华·格雷斯（Edward Grace）指出：“因其为美国的一个龟类走私团伙提供资金而引渡一名从未踏足美国国土的外国国民发出了一个重要信息：那些利用濒危野生生物牟利的人将被绳之以法。”他说：“这项调查显示出管理局执法办公室在同包括马来西亚政府在内的合作伙伴的密切协调下达及全球的力度，以及我们从源头到消费者遏制全球野生生物走私的决心。” 
美国、马来西亚、中国以及其他大约181个国家都是《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora）的签署国。该公约是一项限制可能受到灭绝威胁的物种贸易的国际性条约。 
康走私的五种龟都是受公约保护的物种。东部箱龟（Terrapene carolina carolina）、佛罗里达箱龟（Terrapene carolina bauri）和湾岸箱龟（Terrapene carolina major）是常见的箱龟（Terrapene carolina）的亚种，自1995年一直被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》。星点水龟（Clemmys guttata）是一种半水生龟，于2013年被列入公约。木雕水龟（Glyptemys insculpta）自1992年以来一直受到公约的保护。这些龟类在亚洲市场每只平均价值在650美元到2500美元之间。拥有罕见纹路的母龟的售价曾高达2万美元。
康通过PayPal、信用卡或银行转账向美国发送款项，从在社交媒体或爬行动物交易网站上做广告的卖家手中购买龟类。这些卖家再向五个不同州的中间人运送龟类。这些中间人通常是持学生签证入境美国的中国公民。康向这些中间人付款，指令他们把这些龟类重新包装，贴上假标签并秘密运往香港。为了不引起海关的警觉，这些龟都被用胶带绑住或放在袜子中。康及其同伙都没有向美国或中国海关申报这些龟类，也没有获取必要的《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》许可证。 
助理司法部长托德·金宣布了以上情况。 
环境犯罪部门（Environmental Crimes Section）的出庭律师莱恩·康纳斯（Ryan Connors）和劳伦·斯蒂尔（Lauren Steele）代表政府。美国鱼类及野生生物管理局进行了这项调查。 
司法部国际事务办公室（Office of International Affairs）、美国移民和海关执法局（U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement）国土安全调查马来西亚专员（Homeland Security Investigations Malaysia Attaché）、地区安全办公室（Regional Security Office）、外交安全局（Bureau of Diplomatic Security）、美国国务院（U.S. Department of State）以及美国驻吉隆坡大使馆领事处（Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur）、马来西亚总检察长办公室（Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia）和马来西亚皇家警察（Royal Malaysia Police）在支持引渡以及协同将康送交美国的过程中提供了宝贵的支持。

Department of Justice
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
WASHINGTON – A Chinese citizen was sentenced today to 38 months in prison and one year of supervised release on a federal money laundering conviction.
Kang Juntao, 25, of Hangzhou City, China, had previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, to financing a nationwide ring of individuals who smuggled at least 1,500 protected turtles, valued at more than $2,250,000, from the United States to Hong Kong. The court also ordered Kang to pay a $10,000 fine, equaling the total assets he held in the United States.
From at least June 12, 2017, to Dec. 3, 2018, Kang recruited a network of poachers, shippers and middlemen to illegally obtain and export turtles. He sent money through U.S. banks, including one in New Jersey, to pay for the turtles and their shipments. He arranged for the turtles to be sold illegally in the Chinese pet market for thousands of dollars each. 
Kang had never entered the United States, but the U.S. money laundering statute provides jurisdiction when someone outside of the country passes more than $10,000 through the U.S. financial system to promote specified unlawful activities, such as smuggling wildlife.
In furtherance of the United States’ request for provisional arrest with a view to extradition, the Royal Malaysia Police arrested Kang when he traveled to Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 23, 2019. Kang was extradited to the United States to stand trial in the District of New Jersey in December 2020 pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and Malaysian governments.
“The Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute those who finance and profit from illegal wildlife trafficking, even if they do so from abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
“The extradition of a foreign national who had never set foot on American soil for financing a turtle-trafficking ring in the U.S. sends an important message: those who exploit imperiled wildlife for profit will be brought to justice,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “This investigation illustrates the global reach of the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement made possible by close coordination with partners, including the government of Malaysia, and our resolve to stop international wildlife trafficking from source to consumer.”
The United States, Malaysia, China and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international treaty that restricts trade in species that may be threatened with extinction.
Kang trafficked in five turtle species protected by the treaty. The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), the Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) and the Gulf Coast box turtle (Terrapene carolina major) are subspecies of the common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) and have been listed in CITES since 1995. The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a semi-aquatic turtle listed in CITES as of 2013. The wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) has been protected under CITES since 1992. The turtles are worth on average between $650 to $2,500 each in the Asian market. Female turtles with rare markings have been sold for as much as $20,000.
Kang sent money via PayPal, credit cards or bank transfers to the United States to purchase turtles from sellers advertising on social media or reptile trade websites. These suppliers then shipped the turtles to middlemen across five different states. The middlemen were typically Chinese citizens who entered the country on student visas. Kang paid and instructed these intermediaries to repackage the turtles in boxes with false labels for clandestine shipment to Hong Kong. The turtles were inhumanely bound with duct tape and placed in socks so as not to alert customs authorities. Neither Kang nor his associates declared the turtles to U.S. or Chinese customs or obtained the required CITES permits.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim made the announcement.
The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Lauren Steele of the Environmental Crimes Section. The USFWS conducted the investigation.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Malaysia Attaché, the Regional Security Office, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State, and the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, and the Royal Malaysia Police provided invaluable assistance in supporting the extradition and coordinating the return of Kang to the United States.
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