The U.S. Treasury Department has taken unprecedented action against three Mexican financial institutions linked to cartel money laundering, marking the first use of new authorities aimed at disrupting the deadly fentanyl trade flowing into America.
At a Glance
● The U.S. Treasury ordered American banks to sever ties with three Mexican financial firms: CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa.
● The firms are accused of laundering millions of dollars for major cartels and facilitating payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.
● The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found the firms “have collectively played a long-standing and vital role” in the fentanyl supply chain.
● This marks the first use of new sanction powers granted to the Treasury under the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
Treasury Targets Cartel Financial Network
In a major escalation of the financial war on drugs, the U.S. Treasury Department has taken the unprecedented step of cutting off three Mexican financial institutions from the U.S. financial system. The order, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, targets CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and the brokerage firm Vector Casa de Bolsa for their alleged roles in laundering money for powerful drug cartels.
This is the first time the Treasury has used powerful new authorities granted by Congress under the FEND Off Fentanyl Act to isolate foreign financial firms believed to be complicit in the fentanyl trade. “Cartels have exploited Mexico-based financial institutions to move money, enabling the vicious fentanyl supply chain that has poisoned countless Americans,” Bessent stated.
Extensive Cartel Connections Exposed
A lengthy investigation by the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) uncovered deep and long-standing ties between the financial firms and Mexico’s most notorious cartels. According to the Associated Press, the investigation found:
● CIBanco worked with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel. In 2023, a bank employee allegedly helped a Gulf Cartel member launder $10 million.
● Intercam Banco executives reportedly met with CJNG members to devise money laundering schemes, and the bank processed around $1.5 million in payments for fentanyl components.
● Vector Casa de Bolsa has laundered money for the Sinaloa Cartel since at least 2013 and processed bribes on their behalf to the now-convicted former Mexican Security Secretary, Genaro García Luna.
Disrupting the China-to-Mexico Supply Chain
A key focus of the investigation was how these firms enabled the purchase of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China. Between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco and Intercam collectively processed over $3.6 million for these chemicals. Vector processed over $40 million in suspicious transactions, including $17 million in wire transfers to China-based companies linked to drug trafficking in 2021 alone. By prohibiting U.S. banks from processing transactions for these firms, the Treasury aims to cripple a critical node in the supply chain. The action is a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s strategy to aggressively target the financial infrastructure that makes the deadly fentanyl trade possible.
