Treasury Sanctions Drug Traffickers Laundering Money via Crypto

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against an operative for the Sinaloa Cartel who it says uses cryptocurrency to funnel drug-trafficking proceeds back into Mexico.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement that it sanctioned Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles along with multiple associates from a network that launders the proceeds of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine sales for the Sinaloa Cartel.

The Sinaloa Cartel is run by the sons of imprisoned drug-trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera. Ojeda Aviles and his associates depend on US-based couriers to pick up cash and broker transfers through ...