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Staff profile

Overview

Xinyuan Zhang

Biography

Xinyuan Zhang is a full time PhD student at Durham Law School, and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (CCLCJ). She is also a member of the European Criminal Law Association (ECLA-UK). She holds an LL.M. from Durham University, graduating with high merit, and a B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she was recognized on the Dean’s Honor List. She started her PhD in October 2024, supervised by Ms. Gemma Davies and Dr. Clara Martins Pereira. 

Current Research:

Xinyuan's PhD research lies at the intersection of criminal law and law and technology, with a particular focus on the interplay between anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks and the application of artificial intelligence (AI). Her research explores innovative approaches to leveraging AI technologies in the fight against money laundering, while effectively developing a forward-looking AML regulatory framework suited to the demands of the digital era. Her work aims to promote the responsible, effective, and legally sound deployment of AI within AML enforcement, contributing to the broader discourse on AI governance and regulatory standards fit for the AML context. 

Conference Paper:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the EU Anti-money Laundering (AML): Navigating Responsible and Effective AI Regulation

Zhang, X. (September 25-27, 2025) 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the EU Anti-money Laundering (AML): Navigating Responsible and Effective AI Regulation' (Conference paper). Presented at the 2025 European Law Unbound Society (ELU-S) Annual Conference, Prague, Czech Republic.

Presentation:

Using Artificial Intelligence in the Fight Against Money Laundering: Towards an Innovative AML Regulatory Regime Fit For the Digital Age 

Zhang, X. (March, 2025) Presented at the Lancaster University Law and Criminology Conference 2025 'Sustainable Futures: Reimagining Law and Sustainable Justice Systems', Lancaster, U.K.

Research interests

  • Financial Law
  • Criminal Law
  • Transnational Crime
  • Law and technology