Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not acquired proof to help claims towards CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.
The US has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they’d been used to launder cash for drug cartels.
On Wednesday, the US Division of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the lethal artificial drug fentanyl.
It accused them of taking part in “a longstanding and very important function in laundering thousands and thousands of {dollars} on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating funds for the procurement of precursor chemical compounds wanted to provide fentanyl”.
The sanctions are a part of a wider strain marketing campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump towards Latin American gangs, prison networks and drug traffickers.
That marketing campaign has included designating a number of teams as “international terrorist organisations” and utilizing tariffs to strain Mexico’s authorities to extend enforcement of irregular visitors throughout the border.
In a press release, the Treasury Division stated the banks had been the primary to be focused beneath new items of laws – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – handed to increase its potential to focus on cash laundering associated to opioid trafficking.
The sanctions would block transfers between the focused Mexican banks and US banks, though it was not instantly clear how far-reaching the bounds can be.
In a press release, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of “enabling the poisoning of numerous People by transferring cash on behalf of cartels, making them very important cogs within the fentanyl provide chain”.
However Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit score responded to the sanctions by saying it had but to obtain conclusive proof justifying them.
“We wish to be clear: If now we have conclusive data proving illicit actions by these three monetary establishments, we’ll act to the fullest extent of the legislation,” the Finance Ministry stated.
“Nevertheless, thus far, now we have no data on this regard.”
CIBanco didn’t instantly reply to the allegations. The US Treasury Division accused it of being related to cash laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Technology Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.
Intercam, which can be accused of getting connections to the CJNG cartel, additionally didn’t reply.
In the meantime, the brokerage agency Vector, which was linked to cash laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, stated the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers had been false.
“Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,” the corporate stated in a press release, including that it could cooperate to make clear the state of affairs.
