From Sinaloa to our TV screens, Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera is as famous as many movie stars. You will know him better as ‘El Chapo’, the notorious drug lord from Mexico & head of the Sinaloa drug-trafficking cartel.
Despite his imprisonment in 2019, his line of work continues to haunt US authorities. El Chapo’s sons are accused of flooding the US with methamphetamines & fentanyl with one son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, recently extradited to the US, charged & sanctioned.
In September, US Treasury announced sanctions against nine affiliates of the Sinaloa Cartel & the leader of Colombia’s Clan del Golfo criminal group.
In December, on a visit to Mexico, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced economic sanctions against 15 people & two companies linked to the Mexican cartels.
She said: “We have authorities now that I think make it easier for us to go after middlemen who are not actually trading fentanyl itself but goods like pill presses & pharmaceuticals that aren’t export controlled.
“But when used as part of a cartel to facilitate the drug trade, we can now come down & put sanctions on those entities.”
Much of the current drug crisis in the US is fuelled by fentanyl. Normally used as a powerful pain medication, fentanyl addiction has swept the country, mostly due to its high potency, low cost of manufacture & ease of mixing with other drugs.
But how does this street drug affect businesses in the US? 🇺🇸
One key risk is inadvertently supplying cartels with materials they need to produce drugs. That’s why it is so important to know who you’re doing business with – is that new client as legitimate as they seem?
Another risk is becoming involved in money laundering for the cartels.
Typically, money laundering works in three stages. The first is placement, when the criminal places dirty money into the financial system, usually via wire transfer, cash deposit or some other transaction. The second stage is layering, where the money is moved around via a complex series of transactions to make it difficult to track. Finally, the integration stage means the laundered money is returned to the legitimate economy, often through investments & assets.
Whether you have a new client or a potential investor in a project or your business, it’s vital to know who you’re dealing with. Because when it comes to working with illegal or sanctioned entities, the onus is on you to do your research – you can’t just claim you didn’t know.
It’s a complicated tangle, but at The Owl, we can help you cut through it with our specialized investigations. We combine a predatory approach with complete discretion, investigating potential bad actors who could be putting your business at risk.
We work across industries & borders, languages & cultures, to hunt down criminals & uphold the law. No investigation is out of our depth, & we’re dedicated to protecting your business.
🦉 Need expert investigators? Shoot us a hoot
