The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert, coordinated with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement agencies, urging financial institutions to detect, identify, and report suspicious activity linked to oil smuggling schemes tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, Gulf Cartel, and other Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations moving stolen crude oil from Mexico into the United States. The alert was issued alongside an OFAC sanctions action targeting Mexican individuals and companies connected to CJNG-related fuel theft and oil smuggling on the U.S. southwest border. FinCEN’s alert summarizes the methodologies and financial typologies associated with these operations, highlights red flag indicators, and reiterates Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements. It also describes law enforcement reporting that the cartels use complicit Mexican oil and natural gas industry brokers to smuggle crude oil stolen from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for sale to complicit small U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies operating near the border, with the schemes involving billions of dollars in stolen crude oil.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 2025-05-01
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issues alert urging financial institutions to flag Mexico-based cartel crude oil smuggling on the U.S. southwest border
FinCEN, with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement, issued an alert urging financial institutions to report suspicious activities linked to oil smuggling by Mexican cartels. The alert details methodologies, red flag indicators, and Bank Secrecy Act requirements, highlighting Mexican brokers and U.S. companies' involvement in schemes involving billions in stolen crude oil. This follows OFAC sanctions against individuals and companies connected to these operations.