Treasury Sanctions 3 Mexican Financial Institutions For Aiding Cartels In Fentanyl Trade; Sheinbaum Denies
Treasury Sanctions 3 Mexican Financial Institutions For Aiding Cartels In Fentanyl Trade; Sheinbaum Denies
Update (1100ET): Mexican President Sheinbaum has commented on the sanctions, denying any fraud and claiming the Mexican banking system is 'sound':
*SHEINBAUM: NO EVIDENCE OF MONEY LAUNDERING IN MEXICAN BANKS
*SHEINBAUM SAYS MEXICO ONLY FOUND ADMINISTRATIVE FLAWS IN BANKS
*SHEINBAUM: MEXICO ASKED US TREASURY MONEY LAUNDERING EVIDENCE
*SHEINBAUM: MEXICAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM SOUND, ACCUSED FIRMS SMALL
*MEXICO TRANSFERS TO CHINA COS 'NOT MONEY LAUNDERING': SHEINBAUM
Just a coincidence?
* * *
. The institutions are CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V.
CIBanco and Intercam are commercial banks with assets worth more than $7 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Vector is a brokerage company managing almost $11 billion in assets.
FinCEN has determined that the entities launder money in connection with illicit opioid trafficking, and have “collectively played a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl,” the statement said.
CIBanco facilitated illicit opioid trafficking by Mexican cartels such as Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Beltran-Leyva Cartel, and Gulf Cartel. Intercam was linked to CJNG, and Vector with the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the statement.
FinCEN said that between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco processed more than $2.1 million in payments from Mexico-based companies to entities in China that shipped precursor chemicals to Mexico. Intercam processed over $1.5 million during the same period.
As for Vector, the institution processed more than $1 million between 2018 and 2023.
The sanctions prohibit financial institutions in the United States from engaging in the transmission of funds from or to CIBanco, Intercam, or Vector. The prohibition also applies to any account or convertible virtual currency address administered by the three institutions.
In a June 25
, CIBanco said it does not maintain illegal business relationships. The bank “reiterates its compliance with all guidelines established by the competent authorities,” it said.
“CIBanco maintains constant communication with the relevant Mexican and U.S. authorities and reaffirms its full willingness to cooperate,” it said.
Intercam https://x.com/IntercamBanco/status/1938007154583019561
they “categorically deny” any links between the institution and illicit activity, specifically money laundering, according to a June 25 statement. The institution reiterated its “firm commitment to transparency and legality.”
In a June 25 https://x.com/VectorCB/status/1937979846526730650
, Vector said it “categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity.” The institution has operated under strict rules, auditing, and supervision of national financial authorities, it said.
Illicit Transactions
In a June 25
, Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit said it had asked the U.S. Treasury for evidence of CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector having links to illicit activities that could be corroborated by Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) or the National Banking and Securities Commission. “However, no substantiating information was received,” it said.
“The only information provided by the Treasury Department that Mexico can verify contains data on some wire transfers made through the aforementioned financial institutions to legally incorporated Chinese companies. However, thousands of these transactions are made through Mexican financial institutions.”
“The UIF found transactions made to these Chinese companies by more than 300 Mexican companies through 10 Mexican financial institutions. This is because Mexico has thousands of regular transactions with legally incorporated Chinese companies, with annual trade totaling $139 billion,” according to the statement.
The ministry clarified that if it receives “conclusive information” proving that CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector engaged in illicit activities, it will “act to the fullest extent of the law.” However, the ministry has not received any such information to date, it added.
According to the June 25 Treasury statement, the sanction orders against the Mexican financial institutions were made pursuant to the https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0179#:~:text=These%20orders%20are%20the%20first,synthetic%20opioids%2C%20including%20by%20cartels.
Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
The two Acts provide the Treasury with additional powers to target money laundering linked with the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. These are the first actions taken by FinCEN under the two Acts, according to the Treasury.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that “financial facilitators like CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain.”
“Today’s actions affirm Treasury’s commitment to using all tools at our disposal to counter the threat posed by criminal and terrorist organizations trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics,” he said.
In a June 26 
on social media platform X, Bessent said both the United States and Mexico are committed to ensuring that financial systems have “strong anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism controls.”
China’s Long Game
In an 
with podcaster Joe Rogan on June 6, FBI Director Kash Patel said that China’s plan was to weaken the United States over the long term using the fentanyl crisis.
The Chinese Communist Party did not make much money off the drug trade by supplying precursor chemicals. The plan is to “take out generations of young men and women” who could have taken on jobs such as a police officer, a soldier, or a teacher, he said.
“That’s what they [China] are doing, when you wipe out tens of thousands of Americans a year. It’s a long-term plan for them,” he said.
According to https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2025/20250514.htm
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 48,422 deaths in the country involving synthetic opioid fentanyl in 2024.
The Chinese communist regime’s ongoing supply of illegal drugs to the United States was one of the reasons stated by the Trump administration for imposing 20 percent additional 
on Chinese imports earlier this year.
Following a recent trade agreement, China has announced new controls for two fentanyl precursors.
Thu, 06/26/2025 - 12:20
The Epoch Times
Treasury Sanctions 3 Mexican Financial Institutions for Aiding Cartels in Fentanyl Trade
The entities are culpable for the ‘poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels,’ the Treasury secretary said.
CIBanco and Intercam are commercial banks with assets worth more than $7 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Vector is a brokerage company managing almost $11 billion in assets.
FinCEN has determined that the entities launder money in connection with illicit opioid trafficking, and have “collectively played a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl,” the statement said.
CIBanco facilitated illicit opioid trafficking by Mexican cartels such as Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Beltran-Leyva Cartel, and Gulf Cartel. Intercam was linked to CJNG, and Vector with the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the statement.
FinCEN said that between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco processed more than $2.1 million in payments from Mexico-based companies to entities in China that shipped precursor chemicals to Mexico. Intercam processed over $1.5 million during the same period.
As for Vector, the institution processed more than $1 million between 2018 and 2023.
The sanctions prohibit financial institutions in the United States from engaging in the transmission of funds from or to CIBanco, Intercam, or Vector. The prohibition also applies to any account or convertible virtual currency address administered by the three institutions.
In a June 25 Cibanco
gob.mx
Nota informativa sobre investigaciones en el sector financiero
X (formerly Twitter)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) on X
Cartels have exploited Mexico-based financial institutions to move money, enabling the vicious fentanyl supply chain that has poisoned countless Am...
The Epoch Times
China Is Deliberately Using Fentanyl to ‘Kneecap’ the US, FBI Director Says
China’s long-term plan is to use fentanyl to ’take out generations of young men and women' in the United States, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The Epoch Times
Beijing Announces Controls on 2 Fentanyl Precursors Following Trade Deal
The regime classified 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone as List II drug precursors, requiring authorities to track their manufacturing and trade.
Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge
Zero Hedge
Treasury Sanctions 3 Mexican Financial Institutions For Aiding Cartels In Fentanyl Trade; Sheinbaum Denies | ZeroHedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
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How Price Parity Compares Across America
To show the differences in prices across the country, the BEA compared each state to the national average, represented as 100 as of 2023.
State
Regional Price Parity (U.S. = 100)
California
113
Washington DC
111
New Jersey
109
Hawaii
109
Washington
109
Massachusetts
108
New York
108
New Hampshire
105
Oregon
105
Maryland
104
Connecticut
104
Florida
104
Alaska
102
Rhode Island
101
Colorado
101
Arizona
101
Virginia
101
Delaware
99
Illinois
99
Minnesota
98
Pennsylvania
98
Texas
97
Maine
97
Nevada
97
Georgia
97
Vermont
97
Utah
95
Michigan
94
North Carolina
94
South Carolina
93
Wisconsin
93
Tennessee
93
Indiana
92
Ohio
92
Missouri
92
Idaho
91
Wyoming
91
Kentucky
91
New Mexico
90
Nebraska
90
Montana
90
Alabama
90
Kansas
90
West Virginia
90
Iowa
89
North Dakota
89
Louisiana
88
Oklahoma
88
South Dakota
88
Mississippi
87
Arkansas
87
Ranking as the nation’s most expensive state, prices in California are 13% higher than the national average.
In particular, California’s housing rents are 58% higher overall, second-only to Washington, D.C.. at 69% in 2023. Typically, housing is the primary driver of price disparities across the country.
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At the other end of the spectrum, southern states like Arkansas and Mississippi offer some of the lowest costs of living. In August 2024, the 
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The last full audit of Fort Knox’s gold holdings was in September 1974. A physical inspection was performed by then-Treasury Secretary William Simon, who also invited congressional officials and the media to tour the location and inspect reserves.
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with Bloomberg Television, Bessent said that the U.S. government performs an annual audit of the country’s gold reserves.
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The Treasury’s Office of Inspector General published a 
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Volkswagen plans to close 3 plants and cut 30,000 workers. 
Organizers said the May 24 event was held at Cal Anderson Park in support of “the sanctity of human life, the sacrality of biological gender, the importance of the nuclear family, and the right to freedom of speech and religion.”
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