The United States Department of the Treasury has decided to ease movement restrictions on CIBanco so that the Government of Mexico can complete its liquidation after being sanctioned for money laundering. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has modified the order from last June that prohibited the bank’s transfers due to money laundering in organizations trafficking opioids. This measure is necessary to resolve the problem of customers’ savings accounts that remained active and blocked in this bank. “This modification allows certain fund transfers to facilitate necessary payments for the Government of Mexico to liquidate CIBanco,” the government agency explained in a statement this Wednesday.
The Government of Mexico has been in charge of CIBanco’s operations after its license was revoked six months ago for alleged narco-laundering, at least until its extinction as a banking institution is completed. CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector Casa de Bolsa were the three companies identified by U.S. authorities for facilitating money laundering for the Sinaloa, Jalisco Nueva Generación, Gulf cartels, and the Beltrán Leyva organization. According to investigators, CIBanco was a key company in facilitating payments on behalf of Mexico-based companies involved in acquiring chemical precursors for illicit purposes. In their investigations, they state that from 2012 to 2018, Mexican and U.S. authorities seized at least four shipments associated with a Mexico-based company containing chemical precursors or illicit drugs, including methamphetamine.
After the license revocation and the prohibition of making transfers with financial entities in the United States, Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) had assured that it would return the payment of insured deposits to savers who had accounts in this bank. According to Mexican laws, savers are covered up to 400,000 units in deposits, equivalent to about 3.4 million pesos per person. However, the bank’s assets fell by 48% in just one year after the news became known. Nervousness about the company’s future led to client flight and trust disclaimers. Finally, the bank decided to sell its fiduciary business to Banco Multiva and its automotive portfolio to BanCoppel.
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Now that FinCEN has eased the severity of its restrictions, CIBanco will be able to make transfers again and alleviate one of the main concerns of customers. For the moment, U.S. authorities have only authorized movements that the Government of Mexico considers “necessary for the liquidation” of the bank, as long as they are not prohibited by other laws.
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