A cartel-connected bank, once defended by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, lost its license to operate in Mexico and is in the process of selling off its assets. The move comes just months after the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the bank and two other financial institutions for having laundered money for drug cartels and for helping move money to China to pay for fentanyl precursors.
This week, Mexico’s Bank Savings Protection Institution (IPAB) announced that CI Banco was in the process of liquidating its assets following the revocation of its license by Mexico’s National Banking Commission (CNBV). The IPAB stated that it was in the process of protecting the savings of individual customers amid the closing.
As Breitbart Texas reported, in June, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury revealed that CI Banco and two other financial institutions had been tied to cartel-connected money laundering networks.
In their initial report, U.S. Treasury officials revealed that CI Banco worked with the Beltran Leyva Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and Cartel Jalisco New Generation. In one case, U.S. authorities revealed that in 2023, a Gulf Cartel member established an account to launder $10 million. Officials also claimed that CI Banco had moved $2.1 million from Mexico to China to pay for fentanyl precursors.
Almost immediately after the U.S. Treasury issued its report, Mexico’s Secretariat of Treasury and Public Credit issued a series of statements demanding proof of the allegations and claiming that they had found no evidence of criminal actions by the banks. The agency claimed to have only found administrative faults.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also tried to dismiss the claims and stated several times that U.S. authorities had not provided evidence to support their allegations. The sanctions have sparked much controversy in Mexico since several key political figures have been linked to the financial institutions at various levels.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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