Drug cartels in Mexico used Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other top crypto assets to purchase key ingredients for making the lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to a new report from a US regulator.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says cartels purchase fentanyl precursor chemicals, pill presses, die molds and other manufacturing equipment from Chinese companies using crypto and a variety of other methods.
FinCEN is an agency at the U.S. Department of the Treasury that polices money laundering and terrorism financing.
In addition to BTC and ETH, the cartels also reportedly transact with the top stablecoin USDT and the privacy coin Monero (XMR), among other crypto assets.
FinCEN says the drug-smuggling organizations will send crypto to people affiliated with Chinese suppliers or to secondary money transmitters with hosted wallets at virtual asset service providers.
It’s not just crypto, however: the US regulator also notes that cartels rely on banks, money services businesses (MSBs) and online payment processors to acquire fentanyl-producing materials.
FinCEN says many of those transactions are cleared in dollars through US correspondent banks, domestic online payment processors and Mexico- and China-based agents of American MSBs.
The drug cartels also utilize shell companies designed to look like legitimate Chinese exporters and Mexican importers, according to the regulator.
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