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MEXICO CITY—This past week, officials from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) traveled to Mexico City to reinforce its continuing commitment to close collaboration with the Mexican government to combat illicit finance. On August 2, FinCEN hosted a cross-border roundtable on the shared priorities of combating fentanyl and other drug trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other predicate crimes. This public-private dialogue included participation by U.S. and Mexican financial institutions, U.S. and Mexican regulators and financial intelligence units, and U.S. law enforcement.
“We believe that public-private exchanges have significant benefits in protecting U.S. and Mexican taxpayers and businesses. Exchanges between financial institutions and government agencies in both countries are critical to identifying and disrupting transnational fentanyl trafficking and human trafficking schemes, including Chinese money laundering networks,” said FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das. “We hope that this exchange will provide a strong basis for continuing public-private collaboration that is operational and actionable for both the U.S. and Mexican government authorities.”
The roundtable allowed participants to exchange priorities and approaches to combat the misuse of the financial sector for drug trafficking and its precursors, among other crimes. Disrupting the flow of funds related to corruption and illegal trafficking is a priority for the United States. Treasury, including FinCEN, is a key participant in the United States President’s National Drug Control Strategy. The President’s strategy identifies countering illicit finance as a critical pillar to degrade and disrupt transnational criminal organizations that traffic illicit drugs.
Following the roundtable, on August 3, Acting Director Das joined Elizabeth Rosenberg, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC) at the Department of the Treasury, at the annual United States-Mexico Strategic Dialogue on Illicit Finance, co-hosted by TFFC and the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, Mexico’s financial intelligence unit. Government agencies shared new financial threat information on fentanyl precursor supply chains, human smuggling and trafficking, professional trade-based money laundering, and fraud, all of which enable illicit trafficking networks.
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