US sanctions on CIBanco, Intercam and Vector could put Mexico on FATF grey list

Could Mexico articulation countries specified arsenic Haiti, Venezuela and South Sudan connected the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list” owed to deficiencies successful its measures to antagonistic wealth laundering?

In airy of the United States government’s wealth laundering accusations against 3 Mexican fiscal institutions, an adept who spoke to the paper El Universal believes that it is simply a chiseled possibility.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental enactment that describes itself arsenic “the planetary wealth laundering and violent financing watchdog.”

The enactment maintains a “black list,” which “identifies countries oregon jurisdictions with superior strategical deficiencies to antagonistic wealth laundering, violent financing, and financing of [weapon] proliferation.”

Three countries — North Korea, Iran and Myanmar — are presently connected that list.

The FATF besides has a “grey list,” which “identifies countries that are actively moving with the FATF to code strategical deficiencies successful their regimes to antagonistic wealth laundering, violent financing, and [weapon] proliferation financing.”

“When the FATF places a jurisdiction nether accrued monitoring” — i.e. connected the “grey list” — “it means the state has committed to resoluteness swiftly the identified strategical deficiencies wrong agreed timeframes and is taxable to accrued monitoring,” according to the intergovernmental organization.

There are presently 24 countries and jurisdictions connected the “grey list,” including the 3 mentioned supra arsenic good arsenic Algeria, Bulgaria, Kenya, Monaco, Syria and the British Virgin Islands, among others.

US accusations ‘will beryllium reflected successful adjacent FATF assessment,’ says anti-money laundering expert  

El Universal reported connected Monday that determination is simply a hazard that Mexico volition beryllium added to the FATF’s “grey list” owed to the alleged cases of “narcolavado” (drug trafficking-related wealth laundering) involving the Mexican banks CIBanco and Intercam and the Mexican brokerage steadfast Vector.

US sanctions 3 Mexican fiscal institutions accused of wealth laundering

The newspaper’s appraisal was based connected an interrogation with Genaro Gómez Muñoz, an anti-money laundering adept who is simply a subordinate of the Money Laundering Prevention and Anti-Corruption Commission of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants.

Gómez Muñoz told El Universal that the United States’ allegations against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector — each of which denied the allegations that they laundered millions of dollars for cause cartels — “will beryllium reflected successful the adjacent FATF assessment” of Mexico, whose results volition beryllium announced aboriginal this year.

He noted that Mexico’s capableness to antagonistic wealth laundering hasn’t been assessed by the FATF since 2017. This year’s appraisal comes astatine a clip erstwhile the Mexican authorities is seeking to fortify anti-money laundering legislation. A projected betterment to that extremity was approved by the Senate past week.

Nevertheless, “the cases of the banks that are allegedly progressive with [money laundering related to] cause trafficking volition interaction america successful the result” of the FATF assessment, Gómez Muñoz said.

He said that the FATF’s standing of “due diligence” successful Mexico with respect to efforts to forestall wealth laundering would endure arsenic a effect of the United States’ accusations against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector.

Gómez Muñoz: US saw ‘a hazard to the integrity and information of their fiscal system’

The United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) outlined the accusations against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector successful orders that besides prohibit transactions betwixt U.S. banks and the 3 Mexican fiscal institutions.

FinCEN said past week that its orders would “become effectual 21 days aft … [they] are published successful the Federal Register,” which occurred past week.

“By that day [mid-July] covered fiscal institutions should … cease immoderate and each transmittals of funds, from oregon to CIBanco, Intercam, oregon Vector, arsenic defined successful the orders,” FinCEN said.

Mexico’s National Banking Commission took custody of CIBanco and Intercam connected Thursday, replacing the 2 banks’ administrative bodies and ineligible representatives “for the intent of safeguarding the rights of savers and clients of these institutions.” (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

The orders were the “first actions by FinCEN pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act,” the Treasury Department said successful a statement.

United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said past Wednesday that, “Through the archetypal usage of this almighty authority, today’s actions affirm Treasury’s committedness to utilizing each tools astatine our disposal to antagonistic the menace posed by transgression and violent organizations trafficking fentanyl and different narcotics.”

Gómez Muñoz, an accountant who has besides worked arsenic an academic, told El Universal that the main crushed FinCEN turned its absorption to Mexico was to support the United States’ fiscal system.

“They saw determination is simply a hazard to the integrity and information of their fiscal system, [with it] being utilized by transgression organizations related to the trafficking of fentanyl, which astatine this clip is the force of United States society,” helium said.

CIBanco and Intercam customers study restrictions connected USD transactions 

The El Economista paper reported connected Friday that CIBanco and Intercam customers had reported restrictions connected “the absorption of operations successful their dollar accounts.”

“In the lawsuit of CIBanco, the manager of a institution who preferred not to beryllium identified, explained that helium can’t withdraw, transportation oregon speech overseas currency from his dollar account,” El Economista said.

The paper said that 2 different CIBanco customers it spoke to reported that determination hadn’t been immoderate problems with transfers successful Mexican pesos.

El Economista didn’t supply further details connected the problems it said Intercam customers person besides experienced erstwhile managing their dollar accounts.

Both CIBanco and Intercam were disconnected from Mexico’s SPEI wealth transportation strategy for 5 hours past Thursday, the paper said.

The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) decreed “temporary managerial interventions” astatine CIBanco, Intercam and Vector aft the United States authorities accused the 3 fiscal institutions of wealth laundering.

Finance Minister Edgar Amador Zamora said connected Friday that the purpose of the administrative takeovers was to “ensure determination were nary interruptions successful the banking strategy and to look aft … the savings of the clients of these institutions.”

Asked whether the wealth of relationship holders astatine the 3 fiscal institutions is safe, Amador responded, “Absolutely.”

With reports from El Universal