BTC - Mexican Cartels Exploit Bitcoin Ethereum Tether To Fund Fentanyl Production | Benzinga
Criminal networks in Mexico are leveraging popular cryptocurrencies to finance the procurement of raw materials for fentanyl production, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
What Happened: The advisory, released on Thursday, highlights the increasing use of digital assets such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Monero (CRYPTO: XMR) and Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) by these organizations to purchase precursor chemicals from suppliers based in China.
The advisory details how cartels are “increasingly purchasing fentanyl precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment” from Chinese suppliers and paying for these transactions using various cryptocurrencies.
The updated FinCEN notice aims to alert U.S. financial institutions to the complex network of criminal organizations involved in the production of ...