中国「地下銀行家」、メキシコ麻薬組織の資金を洗浄　米司法省

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米司法省は１８日、メキシコの麻薬組織「シナロア・カルテル」が麻薬密売で得た５０００万ドル（約７９億円）以上のマネーロンダリング（資金洗浄）を支援したとして、中国の「地下銀行家」を起訴したと発表した。（写真は資料写真）
　カリフォルニア州で公開された起訴状によると、コカインおよびメタンフェタミン頒布の共謀と資金洗浄の罪で２４人が起訴された。
　米麻薬取締局のアン・ミルグラム長官によると、当局は「フォーチュン・ランナー作戦」と呼ばれる複数年にわたる捜査を行った。これにより「シナロア・カルテルと、ロサンゼルスおよび中国で活動する中国人犯罪組織との麻薬資金の洗浄をめぐる協力関係」が明らかになった。
　米司法省は中国の「地下銀行家」が、麻薬カルテルが売上金を米国からメキシコに送金するのを支援していたと述べた。
　同省によると、中国国民は年間５万ドル（約７９０万円）以上の海外送金を法律で禁じられている。そのため、それ以上の金額を動かす場合、「非公式な代替手段」を求めることになるという。
　こうした背景から「麻薬密売組織は、中国人の多大な米ドル需要を利用し、中国の地下銀行と提携することが増えている」と指摘している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/19-16:28）

The US Justice Department on Tuesday 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 US dollars from Chinese nationals, it said.
And Beijing's Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday it had worked on a US tip-off to arrest a suspect surnamed Tong involved in drug-related money laundering.
The suspect and others had operated a car dealership in the United States that offered a currency exchange service for buyers, Beijing said.
Later, they switched business and engaged in illegal foreign exchange trading and other criminal activities, it said in a post on social media platform Weibo.
This case is a recent successful case of Sino-US anti-drug cooperation, it added.
Documents released by the US also name a fugitive suspect called Peiji Tong as having been involved in a scheme to launder drug trafficking proceeds in the United States.
The Justice Department said 20 of the 24 defendants named in the indictment are to appear in court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood Randall said China and Mexico had each arrested one individual in connection with the case.
Randall said China's actions build on the commitment made between President (Joe) Biden and President Xi (Jinping) at the Woodside Summit in November 2023 to resume bilateral cooperation to combat global illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking.
The Justice Department said $5 million in narcotics proceeds had been seized during the investigation, along with 302 pounds (137 kilograms) of cocaine, 92 pounds of methamphetamine and 3,000 Ecstasy pills.