Sinaloa Cartel Uses Crypto Wallet For Money Laundering

The Sinaloa Cartel uses a crypto wallet for fund delivery. (Photo; Doc. Blockchain News)

JAKARTA - On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Supervision (OFAC) announced sanctions against ten individuals linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, including people contributing to the international drug trade.

The crackdown also includes sanctions against an Ethereum wallet with the address "0x9c2" used by one of the suspects, Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro, who is suspected of being involved in money laundering for the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Jimenez Castro is said to have directed the use of digital currencies and illegally sending funds to pay cartel leaders in Mexico. Not only that, the funds are also used to produce fentanyl.

The Sinaloa cartel is known as one of Mexico's strongest drug trafficking groups and is one of the main suppliers of fentanyl to the US. The sanctions are also aimed at members of Los Chapitos, a faction led by the children of the imprisoned leader of Sinaloa, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

With this action, OFAC seeks to disrupt the circulation of its banned fentanyl and precursors within Americans. This sanction involves freezing assets owned by the Ethereum wallet and prohibiting US citizens from making transactions with the wallet.

OFAC stated its commitment to continue to fight drug dealers who play a role in the opioid epidemic by imposing sanctions as one way.