The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added a crypto wallet allegedly connected to a major international criminal syndicate as part of its list of Specially Designated Nationals.
In a September 26 announcement, the US Treasury saying had sanctioned 10 people, including many linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. Among those added to the department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals including Mexican citizen Mario Alberto Jiménez Castro through an ethereum wallet.
“(Jiménez Castro) reports directly to a Chapitos deputy and operates a money laundering organization that uses virtual currency and bank transfers, among other methods, to transfer profits from illicit sales of fentanyl in the United States to the leaders of the Cartel. Sinaloa in Mexico,” the Treasury said. . “Jiménez Castro has ordered US-based couriers to collect cash in the United States and deposit it in various virtual currency wallets to pay the Chapitos directly and reinvest it in the production of fentanyl.”
According to Etherscan data, the wallet had a balance of approximately 0.018 Ether (eth) ($28.22) at the time of publication, with the last activity over 200 days ago. No other wallet addresses were included in the most recent OFAC sanctions, which Treasury said were in response to “illicit fentanyl trafficking” affecting the crisis surrounding opioid use in the United States.
“Today’s actions show that Treasury and the Administration will continue to relentlessly target criminal enterprises that threaten international security and flood our communities with fentanyl and other deadly drugs,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Today, @The United States Treasury sanctioned 10 individuals, including several Sinaloa Cartel affiliates and fugitives responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States. https://t.co/eb5zLjmaEb
— Undersecretary Brian Nelson (@UnderSecTFI) September 26, 2023
Related: Senator Elizabeth Warren points out that cryptocurrency payments facilitate the fentanyl trade in China
The sanctions came after OFAC sanctioned individuals with ties to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The US Treasury also cited Lazarus as part of its reasons for adding cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash to its list of specially designated citizens in August 2022. US authorities arrested Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm in August on charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations.
Many industry leaders and policymakers criticized the Treasury’s actions regarding Tornado Cash. Six people backed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the Treasury over the sanctions, but in August a judge sided with the U.S. government in a summary judgment motion.
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