US Treasury sanctions three Mexico-based firms over opioid trafficking

The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has taken unprecedented action under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, naming three Mexico-based financial institutions as “primary money laundering concerns” in connection with illicit opioid trafficking. The move, announced on June 25, marks the first time FinCEN has invoked these authorities to target synthetic opioid-related financial networks.

CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V. are now subject to stringent prohibitions that bar US financial institutions from conducting or facilitating transactions involving the three firms. These prohibitions will take effect 21 days after their publication in the Federal Register, Caliber.Az reports via the department's statement. 

Together, the institutions—two commercial banks and one brokerage firm—are alleged to have played a central role in laundering millions of dollars for Mexico-based drug cartels and in facilitating payments for precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production.

“Financial facilitators like CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Today’s actions affirm Treasury’s commitment to using every tool available at our disposal to counter the threat posed by criminal and terrorist organizations trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics.”

CIBanco, which holds more than $7 billion in assets, was found to have long-standing ties to the Beltran-Leyva, Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), and Gulf Cartels. FinCEN cited an example from 2023 in which a CIBanco employee knowingly opened an account to launder $10 million on behalf of a Gulf Cartel associate. The bank processed over $2.1 million in payments from Mexico-based companies to China-based firms shipping precursor chemicals between 2021 and 2024.

Intercam, with more than $4 billion in assets, was also tied to CJNG. In 2022, Intercam executives reportedly met with cartel members to discuss laundering schemes involving funds transfers from China. Over the past three years, more than $1.5 million flowed through Intercam from Mexican companies to China-based entities involved in fentanyl precursor shipments.

Vector, a brokerage managing nearly $11 billion in assets, was linked to both the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels. From 2013 to 2021, the firm processed $2 million through laundering schemes led by a Sinaloa Cartel operative. Between 2018 and 2023, Vector handled more than $1 million in payments for chemical procurement with inadequate anti-money laundering controls.

The designations come as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to combat the U.S. opioid crisis and transnational organized crime. In January, President Trump signed an Executive Order enabling the designation of drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). In February, six major Mexican cartels, including CJNG, Gulf Cartel, and Sinaloa Cartel, were officially designated under that authority.

These latest financial sanctions are intended to reinforce that initiative by cutting off cartel-linked entities from access to the US financial system.

By Sabina Mammadli