The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions a drug dealer who uses cryptocurrency for money laundering

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against an operator of the Sinaloa drug cartel, accusing him of using cryptocurrency to transfer drug trafficking proceeds back to Mexico. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control stated that those sanctioned include Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles and several of his associates, who laundered sales revenue from fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine for the Sinaloa cartel.

The network relies on couriers within the United States to collect cash and transfers funds through digital currency addresses. In April 2024, a federal grand jury in Colorado indicted another associate of Ojeda, Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares, accusing him of laundering drug proceeds through cryptocurrency.