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Mexico Suspends 13 Casinos and Blocks Platforms in Money‑Laundering Crackdown

Officials describe a scheme that used stolen identities to route fictitious betting wins overseas.

Overview

  • Federal authorities halted operations at implicated gambling halls, blocked virtual platforms, froze related bank accounts, and placed the 13 companies on the high‑risk blocked list.
  • The probe spans eight states—Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, Estado de México, Chiapas, and Mexico City—with unusual cash movements reaching up to 50 million pesos.
  • Investigators say recruiters used stolen or misused identities of students, homemakers, retirees, and low‑income people, funding accounts with prepaid cards or prize codes to register fake winnings.
  • Funds moved through fintech channels to jurisdictions including the United States, Malta, Romania, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland before returning to Mexico as purported business income.
  • Cases were referred to the FGR and the Procuraduría Fiscal, coordination is active with U.S. agencies FinCEN and OFAC, and media report two entities linked to Grupo Salinas as the company confirms it was notified of inquiries.