Overview
- Mexico’s top court, in a 6–3 vote, ruled that the Financial Intelligence Unit can freeze bank accounts as a preventive administrative step based on reasonable signs of crime, without prior judicial approval and without a foreign request.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum defended the tool and said her administration has immobilized about 5 billion pesos tied to suspected laundering, insisting law‑abiding businesses should not fear it.
- Coparmex, the main employers’ group, warned the change weakens legal certainty and could deter investment, especially for small firms, and urged Congress to set clear evidence standards, hard time limits, fast court validation, immediate notice, and transparency rules.
- People can challenge a freeze through an amparo, but a 2025 reform removed automatic suspension, so blocks can persist during litigation and can halt payroll, supplier payments, and day‑to‑day banking.
- The Court is also weighing a case on whether the UIF may obtain Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s banking data without a court order, a ruling that could further define the unit’s access and the scope of bank secrecy.