Mexico: Federal Anti-Money Laundering Agency Freezes 1352 Accounts for Money Laundering

On Tuesday, the police and federal anti-money laundering agency said that they have frozen 1352 bank accounts in Mexico City that moved approximately $125 million on behalf of 14 criminal gangs that also include a few of the biggest drug cartels of Mexico.

Officials of Mexico have been denying the existence of cartels in the state. However, they have acknowledged that cartels come and go often. Banks in the city played a significant role in catering money laundering for the gangs, according to the reports.

Mexico freezes 1,352 alleged criminal accounts in capital (from @AP) https://t.co/QhCf2Z7nd5

— Deborah Bonello (@mexicoreporter) October 14, 2020

According to Omar Garcia Harfuch, the Mexico City police chief, he has survived an assassination attempt by the Jalisco cartel, and money found in recent raids and a few of the suspects were linked to this criminal organisation. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the culprits demanding protection payments from companies under Jalisco cartel in Mexico City actually belong to the gang.

The raids and arrests since April have identified 61 suspects who are involved in murder, robbery, money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. As per the AML regulations of Mexico, the statute of limitations is nine years that may be increased to 20 years. Let’s see how the police and federal AML agency deals with these criminals.