Mexico's Supreme Court Allows UIF to Freeze Accounts Without Court Order

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) denied the amparo to two individuals, one physical and one legal. The latter is owned by one of the nephews of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who challenged the blocking of their bank accounts. In doing so, the constitutional court abandoned two precedents from the previous court composition that limited the Unit for Financial Intelligence (UIF)'s ability to freeze bank accounts to cases requested by foreign authorities. According to the ministers, this unjustifiably limited Mexico's fulfillment of its international obligations and created an unnecessary obstacle for the UIF to combat money laundering and other crimes. Lenia Batres, the presiding minister, stated that this recognizes the state's capacity to investigate and contain the flow of illicit resources and their negative economic effects on the treasury and the economy in general. The company in question is Fresh Packing Corp, incorporated in the United States, whose commercial activity is the wholesale purchase and sale of perishable products, such as vegetables, fruits, and vegetables. The UIF froze a series of the company's bank accounts after detecting unusual movements of around 21 million dollars. UIF will freeze accounts without a court order The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) approved the authority of the Ministry of Finance's Unit for Financial Intelligence (UIF) to place individuals on the Blocked Persons List without a court order, when there is suspicion of illicit activity such as money laundering or terrorist financing. By a majority of six votes to three, the ministers determined that this authority does not violate the right to property, presumption of innocence, right to a hearing, due process, security, and legal certainty, as alleged by a minority of opposition legislators in the Congress of the Union.