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National Drug
Intelligence Center West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis April 2007 Illicit FinanceBulk cash smuggling is the primary method used by traffickers to move drug proceeds from the West Texas HIDTA region to Mexico on account of the area's proximity to the border, limited inspections of southbound traffic by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials, and the relative ease with which cash can be placed into Mexican financial systems. When bulk cash is transported through the West Texas HIDTA region and is smuggled across the Southwest Border, it is further processed in a number of ways, including the following: individuals deposit the cash into Mexican banks and casas de cambio and wire it back to the United States, or complicit Mexican financial institutions repatriate the cash to the United States using cash couriers, armored cars, or deposits into correspondent accounts. Smugglers then transport the money to Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, or other Latin American countries, where it can be used to pay for goods--both legitimate and illicit--on the black market in Colombia, or individuals may move the funds to offshore jurisdictions with heightened bank secrecy regulations.13 Mexican DTOs operating in the West Texas HIDTA region also use traditional depository financial institutions (DFIs) and money services businesses (MSBs) such as money transmitters and casas de cambio located in the area to launder drug proceeds within the HIDTA region, but to a much lesser extent. DFIs and MSBs are used to a much greater degree in Mexico, where bulk currency smuggled through West Texas into Mexico is processed and often sent back to the United States. End Note13. A foreign bank establishes a correspondent account at a financial institution in the United States in order to conduct business in the United States without maintaining a physical presence. This account is used to receive deposits from, make payments or other disbursements on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions related to the foreign bank. |
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