Mexican cartels annually launder some 25,000 million dollars through cyberspace and cryptocurrencies, which are a new way of operating the market for drugs, weapons and people, established the 2021 Report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Mexico.
“The use of bitcoin to launder money is on the rise, especially among drug gangs such as the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel and the Sinaloa cartel, according to authorities in Mexico and the United States. In Mexico alone, Mexican cartels are believed to launder some $25 billion a year. To stay within the $7,500 threshold for bank transactions that set off alarm bells, criminals often divide illicit money into small amounts that are deposited into multiple bank accounts, a technique known as smurfing. ”.
“Then they use those accounts to make a series of online purchases of small amounts of bitcoin, allowing them to disguise the origin of the money and pay their associates in other parts of the world. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, both Mexican and Colombian organized criminal groups are increasing the use of virtual currencies due to the anonymity and speed of operations,” the document detailed.
El Economista reported on September 3, 2021 that organized crime groups already use virtual financial assets (cryptocurrencies) to launder resources, or to pay for supplies, weapons, and drugs. To avoid being detected by the authorities, they use people —mainly young people— as “cyberburreros” to massively acquire cryptocurrencies, according to specialists.
new methods
During the presentation this Thursday of the Report, Raúl Martín del Campo, member of the International Narcotics Control Board, outlined the new methods for money laundering and drug trafficking by Mexican criminal groups, due to the fact that the demand for illegal substances has increased.
He stated that the financial flows not only involve resources from the sale of illegal substances, but also from corruption and bribery, and the laundered funds are mostly used for illegal purposes.
He indicated that for this purpose, these groups use the national financial system, but also remittances, reserves of value, commercial methods, cryptocurrencies, real estate and front companies. For this reason, he called on the Mexican authorities at the three levels of government to strengthen the means of transparency in public spending and combat impunity.
He suggested using asset recovery to expand crime prevention through services like bitcoin and human trafficking; for training of the postal service, since the cartels use it to traffic drugs.
Stacy de la Torre, UNODC regional anti-corruption adviser, highlighted that Mexico has a legal framework to combat suspicious operations with electronic currency, and highlighted the work of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Ministry of Finance to file complaints. She indicated that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has strengthened its capabilities against drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, Marla Daniela Rivera Moya, director of Regulatory Affairs of the FIU, indicated that from 2019 to 2021 that instance has filed 424 complaints with the FGR for alleged acts of money laundering.
minors and drugs
On the other hand, del Campo indicated that despite the fact that the report does not have any recommendations regarding the sale of drugs to minors in school settings, he recommended that educational institutions such as the federal government have a protocol of action.
“What is really important is that there is a good protocol within the educational institutions that allows, once the use of substances in a student is detected, the immediate response is not expulsion. What is done is to perpetuate the cycle of exclusion of substance users and deny them the opportunity for a young person to be helped and cared for”, she added.