Mexican Drug Cartels Are Using Bitcoin Increasingly: Report PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

Mexican Drug Cartels Are Using Bitcoin Increasingly: Report

Time Stamp: March 13, 2022 1:09 PM

The Mexican drug cartels are using bitcoin more than ever as per the UNDOC reports whcih suggest the cartels are using crypto in their criminal activities more than they do traditional methods so let’s read more in today’s latest crypto news.

According to recent reports, some of the Mexican drug cartels are using bitcoin for illicit operations, and among these organizations are Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Despite the merits and proponents, cryptos have their opponents as well. Those often claim that the criminals use BTC and the altcoins in illegal activities like drug trafficking, terror financing, and money laundering. In the report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reveals that digital assets are an attractive financial tool for the cartels.

The agency explained how the gangs incorporate crypto in their activities and the drug proceeds are split into small payments to avoid the controls. The cartels buy small accounts of BTC with it and obscure the origin of money while allowing them to pay associates across the world. Some of the criminal organizations include the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel. The latter is one of the biggest drug trafficking gangs in the world and it was run by El Chapo Guzman who is serving a life sentence in a US-Federal prison.

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The UNODC suggested that both the Colombian and Mexican criminal groups are using virtual currencies because of their anonymity and the speed of transactions. It is worth noting that Bitcoin’s blockchain is transparent and the transactions are recorded on the digital ledger and as such, they can be seen by anyone that has access to the internet. With that said, the Bitcoin nature makes it a questionable tool for those that are trying to facilitate illegal financial transactions. Cash remains the most used payment method in blood money transactions still. Last summer, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Mexico detected 12 crypto trading venues whcih operate without legal authorization.

After conducting research on the matter, the authorities raised suspicions that the tradign venues have to be related to the criminal organization like the drug cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The Nieto Castillo as the head of the FUI said:

“A fundamental issue will be to analyze cryptocurrencies and their relationship with criminal groups. I am struck by the fact that many of the cryptocurrency platforms are installed in several municipalities in the state of Jalisco.”

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