Chinese tied to drug cartel?

 Newsmax:

U.S. financial systems have been warned to look out for Chinese money-laundering networks used by Mexico-based drug cartels, including some designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory Thursday that money-laundering networks linked to individuals holding Chinese passports have enabled drug cartels "to poison Americans with fentanyl, conduct human trafficking, and wreak havoc among communities across our great nation."

"The United States will not stand by and allow nefarious actors to launder illicit proceeds through our financial system," said John Hurley, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a news release. "Today's publication of FinCEN's Advisory and Financial Trend Analysis reinforces Treasury's and law enforcement's ongoing work to combat Chinese money laundering networks and will help financial institutions better identify signs of illicit activity."

FinCEN's Financial Trend Analysis scoured 137,153 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by financial institutions between January 2020 and December 2024 associated with suspected activity relating to Chinese money laundering, totaling approximately $312 billion in suspicious transactions.

FinCEN said Chinese money-laundering networks also participate in facilitating fraud, human trafficking, and human smuggling. It also linked the money-laundering networks to U.S. real estate transactions, casinos, and even laundering through adult daycare centers in New York.

The analysis added that individuals carrying Chinese passports play a significant role in such networks and might wittingly or unwittingly assist money-laundering efforts on a global scale.
...

 In June 2024, the Department of Justice announced a 10-count superseding indictment charging Los Angeles-based associates of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel with conspiring with money-laundering groups linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking proceeds. The Trump administration in February labeled the Sinaloa Cartel as a foreign terrorist organization and specially designated global terrorist outfit.

...

It does not appear that China is interested in stopping these transactions, and Mexico is probably also not up to the challenge.   The DOJ case may reveal more about the illicit enterprise.

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