Overview

• FinCEN designated CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa as primary money laundering concerns tied to fentanyl trafficking in the first use of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
• The orders prohibit certain transactions between US banks and the institutions’ locations in Mexico, effectively severing their US dollar channels.
• The Treasury Department said the three firms manage roughly $22 billion in assets and facilitated laundering millions of dollars for cartels and payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals.
• Each sanctioned institution has denied any wrongdoing and Mexico’s Finance Ministry has requested but not received conclusive evidence to support the US allegations.
• Analysts warn the sanctions could strain US-Mexico trade relations and disrupt cartel funding despite the banks’ relatively modest size.