Chinese 'underground bankers' launder Sinaloa drug money: US

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Justice Department on June 18 accused Chinese "underground bankers" of helping Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel launder more than $50 million in drug trafficking proceeds.

An indictment unsealed in California charged 24 defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and money laundering offenses.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Anne Milgram said a multi-year investigation dubbed "Operation Fortune Runner" had "uncovered a partnership between Sinaloa Cartel associates and a Chinese criminal syndicate operating in Los Angeles and China to launder drug money."

The Justice Department said the Chinese "underground bankers" had helped the cartel transfer drug profits from the United States to Mexico.

Chinese nationals are barred by that country's laws from moving more than $50,000 a year out of China, it said, and some individuals seeking to move more than that seek "informal alternatives" to move funds.

"Drug traffickers increasingly have partnered with Chinese underground money exchanges to take advantage of the large demand for U.S. dollars from Chinese nationals," it said.

And Beijing's Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday it had worked on a U.S. tip-off to arrest a suspect surnamed Tong involved in "drug-related money laundering."