Overview

• The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network designated CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa as primary money laundering concerns under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
• US financial institutions are now prohibited from conducting specified transactions with the sanctioned Mexican entities, effectively severing their direct access to the US banking system.
• Treasury officials accuse the three firms of laundering millions of dollars for Mexican cartels and facilitating payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals imported from China.
• All three institutions have denied the allegations, and Mexico’s finance ministry says it has yet to receive conclusive evidence to substantiate the US claims.
• Analysts warn that cutting off these mid-sized banks from US markets could disrupt Mexico’s interconnected financial network and increase pressure on authorities to tackle cartel financing.