Mexico has identified thirteen casinos where million-dollar cash operations, international financial flows, and the use of unsupervised digital platforms were detected. This was announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) of Mexico. In a press release, SHCP stated that, together with the Security Cabinet and as part of an investigation that has been ongoing for months, 'conducts allegedly consistent with international money laundering typologies' were identified in establishments located in the states of Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, State of Mexico, Chiapas, and Mexico City, according to the patterns detected in the financial analysis. It explained that due to their 'high financial risk, they were listed as blocked legal entities' to protect users and prevent these spaces from being used by organized crime. The note pointed out that some of these establishments 'operated with million-dollar cash movements', transfers to countries such as the United States, Romania, Albania, Malta, Panama; as well as through digital platforms, 'which facilitated the dispersion of illicit resources, their concealment, and their reinsertion into the Mexican and international financial system.' The investigation also identified that the digital platforms 'used people with economic profiles inconsistent with the amount of money received,' such as housewives, students, retirees, the unemployed, 'who, in exchange for a percentage, transferred the entire amount to the real owners, legitimizing the income apparently obtained from games.' The Ministry of Finance of Mexico explained that as a result of these findings, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) will file the corresponding complaints with the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and will notify the Federal Prosecutor's Office, with the aim of following up on possible crimes related to operations with resources of illicit origin (money laundering), criminal association, and tax offenses. SHCP stated that these actions reaffirm the commitment to international cooperation to prevent the use of the financial system for illicit purposes, in collaboration with FinCEN and OFAC of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and in compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering. And they reaffirm the commitment of the Mexican government to strengthen inter-institutional coordination, prevent criminal infiltration into vulnerable sectors, and consolidate joint actions with security and justice authorities to prevent casinos and betting platforms from being used by alleged organized crime groups, as well as to protect users and the population.
