Financial Crime World

Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit: Combating Money Laundering and Drug Trafficking

Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-Mexico) has been a pioneer in preventing and combating money laundering, with a particular focus on drug trafficking. Mexico’s adherence to international legal frameworks, including the UN Conventions against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Organized Crime, and Corruption, has bolstered its defense against financial crimes.

International Standards

Global initiatives to counteract financial crimes are spearheaded by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets the international standards for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering terrorist financing (CTF) measures.

Mexico has integrated FATF recommendations, such as:

  • Establishing Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)
  • Assigning responsibilities to law enforcement and investigative authorities

Mexico’s first and second National Risk Assessments (NRA) have identified drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorist financing as significant risks to the country.

Mexico’s Strategies

Mexico’s financial intelligence infrastructure includes collaborating entities, facilitating the sharing of information and coordinated efforts against financial crimes. The actors in Mexico’s financial intelligence system are:

  • Financial entities: The financial system and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) play a crucial role in reporting suspicious transactions.
  • Regulatory and supervisory bodies: The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), FIU, and the Bank of Mexico are responsible for implementing AML/CTF measures and examining potential violations.

FIU-Mexico: A Centralized Instance

FIU-Mexico operates under the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and functions as a centralized instance for:

  • Receiving and analyzing financial intelligence
  • Disseminating financial intelligence for action against financial crimes

Money Laundering Risks and Results

FIU-Mexico targets drug trafficking transactions and maintains a risk model to analyze reported subjects linked to drug trafficking for money laundering activities. Effective collaboration between Mexican agencies results in the following actions:

  • Blocking accounts: Over 6,500 individuals have been added to the List of Blocked Persons, preventing illegal access to the financial system.
  • Suspicious transactions prevention: Over 24,000 suspicious transactions worth over MXN 1.6 billion (USD 84 million/EUR 83 million) have been prevented between December 2018 and September 2021.