The Mexican government is moving quickly to support two local banks and a brokerage that are accused of collaborating with US Treasury officials and various cartels. These allegations suggest they are facilitating money laundering and payments to China related to fentanyl precursors. Mexican officials have raised doubts about the legitimacy of the Treasury’s sanctions, contending that there is inadequate evidence backing these claims.
This week, Mexico’s Bureau of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) stated that upon being informed of the Treasury’s actions against the three financial institutions, they sought evidence to substantiate such claims. According to their statement, Mexican authorities found no criminal conduct associated with these banks, countering what had been reported by US authorities.
SHCP emphasized that the information from the US Treasury merely addressed transfers between Mexican entities and “legitimately established Chinese companies.” They pointed out that this type of legal commerce reflects thousands of transactions between other Mexican financial institutions and China.
A review conducted by the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) of Mexico concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the three institutions involved. CNBV officials previously noted a lack of concrete evidence of any criminal activity.
In their efforts to refute the US Treasury’s information, specific institutions—Cibanco SA, Intercam SA, and Vector Casa de Bolsa—were quickly identified, as reported by Breitbart Texas. These entities are alleged to have facilitated payments from criminal organizations to Chinese firms for fentanyl precursor shipments derived from drug profits.
These statements from Mexican officials occur amid ongoing challenges with corruption and a longstanding history of shielding drug cartels. Early in the Trump administration, the White House criticized the Mexican government for what they described as an “unbearable relationship with drug cartels.”
