Overview
- The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Wednesday added more than a dozen people, two Mexican companies and six Ethereum addresses to its sanctions list for helping move fentanyl proceeds to the Sinaloa Cartel.
- Named in the designations were fugitive Jesús González Peñuelas, for whom the State Department already offers a $5 million reward, and alleged crypto‑launderer Armando de Jesús Ojeda Aviles, who is accused of converting bulk drug cash into cryptocurrency.
- The two companies identified by OFAC are Gorditas Chiwas, a Chihuahua restaurant, and Grupo Especial Mamba Negra, a security firm, which the Treasury says were used as fronts to launder drug money.
- The listings freeze any U.S. assets of the targets and bar U.S. persons and institutions from dealing with them, creating new screening and blocking duties for exchanges, custodians and other crypto service providers.
- Officials say the move is part of a multiagency, international push that builds on past indictments and seizures but acknowledge limits because traffickers can try mixers, bridges or rotating wallets to hide funds.