The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has designated three Mexican financial institutions as primary money laundering concerns linked to fentanyl trafficking—its first action under the newly enacted FEND Off Fentanyl Act and the Fentanyl Sanctions Act.
The sanctions, announced Wednesday in a press release, target CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa, and prohibit U.S. financial institutions from processing certain transactions involving the firms. FinCEN said the institutions played “a longstanding and vital role” in laundering millions of dollars for Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production.
“These institutions are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Today’s actions affirm Treasury’s commitment to using all tools to counter fentanyl trafficking.”
CIBanco, which holds more than $7 billion in assets, is accused of providing services to the Beltrán-Leyva, Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), and Gulf cartels. In 2023, a CIBanco employee allegedly helped open an account used to launder $10 million for a member of the Gulf Cartel. Between 2021 and 2024, the bank processed over $2.1 million in payments to Chinese companies that supply fentanyl precursor chemicals, according to FinCEN.
Intercam, a commercial bank with $4 billion in assets, also allegedly facilitated transactions for CJNG. In 2022, senior Intercam executives reportedly met with cartel members to discuss laundering funds through China. Between 2021 and 2024, the bank processed more than $1.5 million in payments from Mexican firms to Chinese chemical exporters tied to drug production.
Vector Casa de Bolsa, a brokerage firm managing nearly $11 billion in assets, was found to have enabled laundering by the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels. FinCEN reported that a money mule laundered $2 million from the United States to Mexico through Vector between 2013 and 2021. The firm also processed over $1 million in payments to Chinese companies between 2018 and 2023, despite what the agency described as weak anti-money laundering controls.
The sanctions follow a broader crackdown initiated under an executive order issued by President Trump in January 2025, which designated several Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The restrictions will take effect 21 days after publication in the Federal Register. U.S. financial institutions will then be barred from transmitting funds involving CIBanco, Intercam, or Vector—including transactions related to accounts and virtual currency addresses.