{"id":79041,"date":"2026-10-04T07:39:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T07:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/latam-cartels-tap-crypto-to-expand-their-illicit-workflows\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T07:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T07:39:28","slug":"latam-cartels-tap-crypto-to-expand-their-illicit-workflows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/latam-cartels-tap-crypto-to-expand-their-illicit-workflows\/","title":{"rendered":"Latam Cartels Tap Crypto to Expand Their Illicit Workflows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Latam cartels operate crypto mining farms, making illicit funds appear legitimate to evade law enforcement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Criminal groups built fintech networks to launder over $50B in crypto with international rings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Rising terror links prompt calls for tighter fintech oversight and faster digital asset freezes in Latam.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Crypto Adoption in Latam Gives Criminals Extra Tools<\/h2>\n<p>The rise of cryptocurrencies in Latam, a region that has become one of the most vibrant regarding digital asset adoption, has also allowed criminals to take advantage of this alternative financial system and the processes associated with it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dialogo-americas.com\/articles\/cryptocurrencies-and-organized-crime-the-new-front-in-latin-americas-financial-fight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">According to Dialogo Americas<\/a>, as the utilization of cryptocurrencies by criminal actors is mainly linked to money laundering, these organizations have turned to mining and other crypto investments to obscure the origin of some of their illicit earnings.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence of this is found in <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/mining\/deep-in-mexicos-jungle-police-found-300-crypto-miners-humming\/\">recent operations executed by Mexican<\/a> and Brazilian police, which have dismantled mining complexes allegedly operated by criminal entities such as the Brazilian Comando Vermelho and the Mexican Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generaci\u00f3n, which have also been linked to crypto money laundering endeavors before.<\/p>\n<p>\u00c1lvaro Marques, a former Brazilian Federal Police agent, explained why mining is attractive for these groups. <strong>\u201cThe advantage is that cryptocurrencies obtained through mining have a technical origin that can be associated with a legitimate activity. This creates additional challenges when trying to trace financial assets,\u201d<\/strong> he declared.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Latam-based criminal organizations have begun to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/brazilian-federal-police-dismantle-2-billion-crypto-money-laundering-ring-linked-to-the-pcc-cartel\/\">build their own network of financial intermediaries<\/a> to move cryptocurrencies in a \u201clegal way.\u201d Operation Hidden Flow (Fluxo Oculto) dismantled a network of six fintech companies that laundered over $5 billion for the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) between 2022 and 2025. In June, the Trump Administration <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/trump-administration-labels-brazils-deadliest-gangs-as-specially-designated-global-terrorists\/\">designated the PCC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)<\/a>. Other criminal groups like Tren de Aragua have also been implicated in similar crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, crypto has also given these groups access to large international money laundering rings, including those of Russian and Chinese origin. For example, Golden Cat Processamento de Pagamento Ltda., a fintech managed by Chinese nationals in Brazil, allegedly operated as a money laundering scheme, facilitating these services for online gambling operators. The network processed over $50 billion before being dismantled.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators have even identified links between terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and al-Qaeda and local cartels, raising alarms about the relevance of strengthening international coordination to tackle this ongoing integration.<\/p>\n<p>Caio Motta, Chainalysis\u2019 senior Solutions Architect for Latin America, told Dialogo Americas that financial organizations facilitating these crimes must be subject to stringent oversight controls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThat means strengthening licensing and oversight processes, monitoring transactions in real time, increasing scrutiny of OTC brokers and shell companies, enhancing international cooperation, and accelerating the freezing and seizure of digital assets,\u201d<\/strong> he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/crypto-news\/latam-cartels-tap-crypto-to-expand-their-illicit-workflows\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Latam cartels operate crypto mining farms, making illicit funds appear legitimate to evade law enforcement. Criminal groups built fintech networks to launder over $50B in crypto with international rings. Rising terror links prompt calls for tighter fintech oversight and faster digital asset freezes in Latam. Crypto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":79042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}