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ABC News
6 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
US sanctions Mexican banks for allegedly laundering money for drug cartels
The US Treasury has slapped three Mexican financial institutions with sanctions, accusing them of laundering millions of dollars for cartels that are furthering the distribution of fentanyl into the US. It is a move, under the Trump administration's new fentanyl sanctions authority, that officials say will block certain money transfers between the sanctioned banks and US banks. The banks, CIBanco and Intercam Banco, as well as brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, "have collectively played a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels" US deputy Treasury secretary Michael Faulkender told reporters on Wednesday, local time. He added the financial institutions were "facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl" and would now be "effectively cut off" from doing business with US financial institutions. While the sanctions do not block property or cut off all global US dollar-based activities, as other Treasury sanctions have, they do prohibit US transactions with their locations in Mexico, a US Treasury official noted. Although US sanctions against individuals and companies for links to Mexican organised crime groups are fairly frequent, measures against financial institutions are far less common. The Mexican Finance Ministry said in a statement it was notified of the investigation and asked the US Treasury for evidence of illicit activity links to CIBanco, Intercam and Vector, but it received no "conclusive information". Vector categorically rejected "any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity", it said in a statement. It added that it reiterated its full willingness to collaborate with Mexican and US authorities to clarify the situation. Intercam similarly "categorically" denied "any connection between this institution and any illicit practice". CIBanco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Experts said the move, although targeting relatively small institutions, could have significant impact on Mexico's financial system given the interconnectedness with the United States. Luis Manuel Perez de Acha, a tax lawyer and money laundering expert in Mexico City, said the accusations were a "bombshell". "The entire financial system passes through the United States, so they are practically left without operations," he said. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a specialist on organised crime, said the sanctions were "enormously impactful". "This is a bold move. Being cut off from the US financial system is a death blow," she told Reuters. "These are hardly the biggest banks in Mexico, but they are not small entities." "These are medium-level banks," Ms Felbab-Brown said. However, she said the sanctions were unlikely to "make any kind of dent in the financial flows of Mexican criminal groups". According to the Treasury orders, CIBanco helped facilitate money laundering for a number of cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation, Beltran Leyva and Gulf. Officials said the bank "facilitated procurement" of chemicals used to make fentanyl from China by processing over $US2.1 million in payments for the materials. Vector was accused of facilitating money laundering for the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, including $US1 million in payments for fentanyl chemicals. The Treasury officials also said the Sinaloa Cartel used Vector to send bribes to former Mexican security secretary Genaro García Luna, who in October was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison by a New York court for the charges. They estimated that transactions exceeded $US40 million. The Trump administration has announced it is cracking down on Mexican cartels and fentanyl trafficking despite movement of the drug along the US border and overdoses within the country declining. AP/Reuters
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
U.S. ties 3 Mexican financial institutions to fentanyl trafficking
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday accused three Mexican financial institutions of moving money for opioid traffickers and handling payments for cartels seeking imported chemicals to make fentanyl. The department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, identified CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A. and Vector Casa de Bolsa as being 'of primary money laundering concern' in connection with opioid trafficking.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US sanctions Mexican banks, alleging connections to cartel money laundering
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels. On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl. It accused them of playing 'a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl'. The sanctions are part of a wider pressure campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump against Latin American gangs, criminal networks and drug traffickers. That campaign has included designating several groups as 'foreign terrorist organisations' and using tariffs to pressure Mexico's government to increase enforcement of irregular traffic across the border. In a statement, the Treasury Department said the banks were the first to be targeted under new pieces of legislation – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – passed to expand its ability to target money laundering related to opioid trafficking. The sanctions would block transfers between the targeted Mexican banks and US banks, although it was not immediately clear how far-reaching the limits would be. In a statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of 'enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain'. But Mexico's Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit responded to the sanctions by saying it had yet to receive conclusive evidence justifying them. 'We want to be clear: If we have conclusive information proving illicit activities by these three financial institutions, we will act to the fullest extent of the law,' the Finance Ministry said. 'However, to date, we have no information in this regard.' CIBanco did not immediately respond to the allegations. The US Treasury Department accused it of being connected to money laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel. Intercam, which is also accused of having connections to the CJNG cartel, also did not respond. Meanwhile, the brokerage firm Vector, which was linked to money laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers were false. 'Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,' the company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate to clarify the situation.
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
U.S. blocks money transfers by 3 Mexico-based financial institutions accused of aiding cartels
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions Wednesday on three Mexico-based financial institutions it said were used to launder millions of dollars for cartels, in a move officials say would block certain money transfers between the sanctioned banks and U.S. banks. The orders issued on the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco, as well as brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, are part of an ongoing push by U.S. and Mexican authorities under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on Mexican cartels that traffic fentanyl. The banks 'have collectively played a long-standing and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl,' Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender told reporters on Wednesday. Faulkender said the measures would 'effectively cut off' the bank branches from doing business with U.S. financial institutions. The orders would also sanction 31 people connected to the banks. The three financial institutions did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear, however, how far-reaching the effects would actually be. When asked by reporters, Treasury officials did not confirm nor provide details about specific transfers between the Mexico-based banks and U.S. banks, but said there were 'touch points' between the institutions. Officials also did not rule out the possibility of foreign branches of the banks outside of Mexico being able to continue to do business with U.S. banks. According to the Treasury orders, CIBanco helped facilitate money laundering for a number of cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation, Beltran Leyva and Gulf. Officials said the bank 'facilitated procurement' of chemicals used to make fentanyl from China, by processing over US$2.1 million in payments for the materials. Vector was accused of facilitating money laundering for the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, including $1 million in payments for fentanyl chemicals. The Treasury officials also said that Vector was used by the Sinaloa Cartel to send bribes to former Mexican Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, who was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison by a New York court in October for the charges. They estimated that transactions exceeded $40 million. Intercam faced similar charges, and was accused of passing through transfers of $1.5 million in payments for chemicals used to produce fentanyl from China. The orders were just the latest actions by the Trump administration, which has announced it was cracking down on Mexican cartels and fentanyl trafficking, despite movement of the drug along the border and overdoses within the U.S. already being on the decline. This year, the administration also declared many of those cartels Foreign Terrorist Organizations and has sanctioned a number of Mexican officials. Megan Janetsky, The Associated Press
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
US blocks money transfers by 3 Mexico-based financial institutions accused of aiding cartels
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions Wednesday on three Mexico-based financial institutions it said were used to launder millions of dollars for cartels, in a move officials say would block certain money transfers between the sanctioned banks and U.S. banks. The orders issued on the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco, as well as brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, are part of an ongoing push by U.S. and Mexican authorities under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on Mexican cartels that traffic fentanyl.
