LatinNews Daily - 26 June 2025

*The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued orders identifying two Mexican commercial banks, CIBanco S.A. (CIBanco) and Intercam Banco S.A (Intercam), and brokerage firm Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A (Vector) - as being of “primary money laundering concern in connection with illicit opioid trafficking”, prohibiting certain transmittals of funds involving these firms. According to a statement by the US Department of the Treasury, these orders are the first actions by FinCEN pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, promulgated in the US in 2019 and 2024, respectively. According to the same statement, CIBanco and Intercam have over US$7bn and US$4bn in total assets respectively, while Vector manages nearly US$11bn in assts. It claims that CIbanco has “a long-standing pattern of associations, transactions, and provision of financial services that facilitate illicit opioid trafficking by Mexico-based cartels”, including the Cártel de los Beltrán Leyva, Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and Cártel del Golfo (CDG) and has also “facilitated the procurement of precursor chemicals from China for illicit purposes”. It claims that Intercam has a similar pattern of activities with Mexico-based cartels including the CJNG, and has processed US dollar-denominated funds transfers that “finance the procurement of precursor chemicals from China on behalf of drug trafficking organizations for illicit purposes”. Meanwhile it claims that Vector has facilitated the money laundering activities of Mexico-based cartels, including the Cártel de Sinaloa and CDG as well as facilitating “procurement of precursor chemicals from China for illicit purposes”. In a statement Mexico’s finance ministry (SHCP) said that it had requested evidence from the US regarding the allegations but so far no proof had been provided, adding that the national bank superintendency (CNBV) would be carrying out a review of the three firms.

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