Mexico

New Documents

FATF Re-Rates AML/CTF Compliance of Mexico

The Financial Action Task Force issued a follow-up report examining Mexico’s progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing framework, highlighting improvements related to mutual legal assistance requests.

May 12, 2022

FATF Releases Third Follow-up Report on Mexico

The Financial Action Task Force published a third enhanced follow-up report on Mexico, which re-rates the nation on five FATF recommendations.

June 16, 2021

DOJ Dismisses Money Laundering, Drug Charges Against Former Mexican Defense Official

November 18, 2020

Egmont Group, Mexico Postpone July 2020 Plenary Meeting

April 8, 2020

Mexican FIU Issues COVID-19 Notice (in Spanish)

April 7, 2020

News

Midweek Roundup: Glencore Nears Bribery Settlement, Mexico Freezes Casino Accounts, and More

Russians using Visa and Mastercard, U.K. agents raid blacklisted oligarch’s home, and more, in the midweek roundup.

May 25, 2022

Weekly Roundup: Barclays Flagged Suspicious UK Campaign Contribution, Mexican Court Favors AML Over Privacy, and More

Erdogan freezes assets of political opponents, U.K. lawmakers demand stronger AML reforms, and more, in the weekly roundup.

May 13, 2022

Weekly Roundup: London Law Firm Penalized for AML Lapses, Global Regulatory Fines Plummeted in 2021, and More

January 7, 2022

Midweek Roundup: Treasury Targets Ransomware Payments, Bitcoin ATMs Draw FBI Attention, and More

November 10, 2021

Weekly Roundup: Brooklyn Plaintiffs Sue Global Banks, US Officials Repatriate $452 Million to Malaysia, and More

August 6, 2021

Enforcement Actions

0 Items Found

Key Documents

Mexico Places Controls on Large Cash Transactions Related to Real Estate, Car Purchases (in Spanish)

October 17, 2012

Mexico Updates Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing Portions of Criminal Code (in Spanish)

June 14, 2012

Mexico Publishes National AML Strategy (in Spanish)

August 26, 2010

Mexico Prohibits U.S. Cash Deposits Over $4,000 per Month (in Spanish)

June 16, 2010

Mexico Issues Customer Identification Requirements for Banks (in Spanish)

May 25, 2010

Mexico Establishes AML Requirements for Money Remitters (in Spanish)

August 3, 2011

Mexico Places AML Controls on Brokerage Houses, Stock Market (in Spanish)

May 6, 2009

Mexico: Popular Savings and Loan Companies Must Abide by AML Rules (in Spanish)

August 13, 2009

Insurance Companies Must Detect and Prevent Money Laundering, Orders Mexican Government (in Spanish)

June 20, 2008

Important Facts

  • The U.S. State Department labels Mexico as a major money laundering country. Illicit actors launder billions of dollars of drug trafficking proceeds through the Mexican financial system annually. Illicit drug proceeds leaving the United States are the principal sources of funds laundered through the Mexican financial system. Corruption, bulk cash smuggling, kidnapping, extortion, fuel theft, intellectual property rights violations, fraud, human smuggling, and trafficking in persons and firearms serve as sources of additional funds laundered through Mexico. Money laundering through the luxury real estate sector remains a concern, especially as a vehicle for laundering the proceeds of public corruption. Popular laundering methods include: the use of dollar-denominated illicit proceeds to purchase retail items for export and resale in Mexico or the U.S. and routing the revenues from the sales to transnational criminal organizations; investment in financial and real estate assets such as property and luxury items, particularly with respect to proceeds laundered due to public corruption; structure deposits where cash deposits into accounts in the U.S. are funneled into a single account and wire to Mexico; and use of unlicensed exchange houses to funnel narcotics-related proceeds. A legislation passed in 2019 expands predicate offenses of money laundering and makes asset forfeiture proceedings independent from any related criminal proceeding. In 2020, federal prosecutors filed the country's first three asset forfeiture complaints.
-Source: 2021 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR)

Rankings

FATF i | 2013

Technical Effectiveness
Compliant : 10 High : 0
Largely Compliant : 22 Substantial : 4
Partially Compliant : 7 Moderate : 4
Non-Compliant : 1 Low : 3

Mexico's technical compliance was re-rated in a May 12, 2022 follow-up report

BASEL i

Rank : 50/110
Score : 5.09/10

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL i

Rank : 124/179
Score : 31/100

Tax Justice Network i

Rank : 80/133
Score : 53/100