U.S. Department of Justice unseals indictment charging two Chinese nationals in alleged laundering network for Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia charging Chinese nationals Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu with conspiracy to commit money laundering for transnational criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. The case alleges a long-running scheme that moved narcotics proceeds, including funds linked to cocaine and fentanyl trafficking, through covert channels spanning the United States, Mexico, Latin America, China and elsewhere. Court documents allege that, from at least November 2016 through April 2025, the defendants and co-conspirators used mirror transfers, foreign bank accounts, encrypted communications applications, a serial-number verification system and trade-based money laundering to handle substantial volumes of narcotics proceeds and funds represented to be narcotics proceeds. A federal grand jury in Alexandria indicted both men on April 24, 2025. They remain at large and each faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The Department noted that the indictment contains allegations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.