FinCEN Supplemental Alert on Cartel Fuel Smuggling and Tax Evasion
FinCEN issued a supplemental Alert on suspicious activity tied to CJNG and other Mexico-based cartels smuggling US fuel into Mexico.
The supplemental Alert targets fiscal fuel theft schemes involving US-Mexico cross-border fuel smuggling by transnational criminal organizations. Institutions serving energy, logistics, and border-region clients must adapt AML controls to identify trade-based money laundering and tax evasion indicators.
Reinforces cartel-related AML priorities and expands typologies for trade-based money laundering monitoring.
Action Required
Update monitoring for fuel-sector, cross-border trade, and cartel-linked typologies and refresh SAR filing guidance.
Cartel-focused Alerts drive supervisory expectations and SAR filing scrutiny for cross-border trade flows.
Enhance monitoring of fuel trading, energy logistics, and southern border corridor payments; integrate fiscal fuel theft typologies into TBML scenarios and update customer risk ratings for exposed sectors.
“FinCEN issued a supplemental Alert advising financial institutions to detect and report suspicious activity connected to CJNG and other Mexico-based TCOs smuggling fuel from the US into Mexico in fiscal fuel theft schemes.”