The US reiterates that Mexican cartels use cryptocurrencies in the fentanyl business – DiarioBitcoin

According to him, criminal organizations use cryptocurrencies to acquire the raw materials necessary to manufacture the dangerous drug.

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• FinCEN denounces that Mexican cartels operate with cryptocurrencies in the fentanyl industry
• They use these assets to acquire raw materials
• They buy them from entities based in China and seek to outsource payments to avoid controls
• Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned about this problem in the past

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Department of the Treasury denounced that criminal organizations in Mexico use digital currencies to market raw materials necessary in the production of fentanyl, a very powerful drug that is causing serious problems among North American residents.

Mexican cartels, fentanyl and cryptocurrencies

The precision came into place in a statement published by FinCEN today through its website, where it indicates that these Mexican organizations are using currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero and Tether to access raw materials associated with fentanyl, which they buy from suppliers in China to avoid regulators.

As detailed FinCEN, Certain exchanges and secondary entities are used to carry out commercial operations, and thus try to evade US regulators in their investigations to stop the growth of this industry.

In relation to the problem that the United States is experiencing with fentanyl, reports claim that the consumption of this drug has become one of the main causes of death among people between the ages of 18 and 45, given that It is a synthetic opioid whose effects are much more powerful than those of morphine and heroin.

Although there were already indications from FinCEN towards Chinese companies for their links with the fentanyl industry, on this occasion he points to the Mexican cartels as some of the main producers of this dangerous drug, which is highly addictive and has generated a notorious public health problem, especially in Philadelphia.

Statements by Elizabeth Warren

The statements by FinCEN They support the accusations made by US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has repeatedly accused that cryptocurrencies are closely related to the fentanyl industry in the US, being the main means of marketing the raw materials necessary for its manufacture.

At that time, the senator supported her accusations in a couple of reports published by the firms Chainalysis and Elliptical, where they warned that the groups responsible for marketing the components for the creation of fentanyl have been operating through the Dark Web. They estimated flows ranging between USD $25 million and USD $37.8 million in payments with cryptocurrencies, which despite not being significant figures, help in the production of about USD $54 billion in illicit substances.

As for Warren, although her statements may not be lacking, they are part of a campaign against cryptocurrencies that she leads, where in addition to pointing out links with the fentanyl industry, she also links them to scams and financial crimes. .

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