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Mexico City, November 12, 2025.- The Mexican government, through the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), reported that, as a result of a financial analysis investigation carried out over several months, a complex money laundering scheme was detected in 13 casinos involving irregular financial movements. The information was relayed to the Federal Fiscal Attorney’s Office (PFF) for possible fiscal crimes and omissions in tax compliance.
In addition, charges were filed with the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for operations with funds of illicit origin and related crimes and activities were temporarily suspended at physical establishments, while the websites of virtual casinos and bank accounts linked to irregular operations were blocked.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo emphasized that investigations are continuing and that the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) is being strengthened so that it can work in coordination with the Security Cabinet and the National Investigation and Intelligence System to prevent the flow of money from strengthening organized crime groups. She also pointed out that the investigations have a legal basis and are being carried out in collaboration with financial intelligence units in the United States and other countries around the world.
“When we took office, we decided that part of the Security Strategy also had to do with what many experts who are knowledgeable about these issues say, and what is also obvious and evident, which is to track resources that are allegedly linked to organized crime or money laundering schemes.
“So part of this investigation was strengthened, is being strengthened with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Finance and working in coordination with the Security Cabinet and the National Intelligence and Investigation System to prevent the flow of money that could strengthen organized crime groups,” she said at the morning press conference known as La Mañanera.
Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch reported that, based on this finding, a new stage of prevention has begun in which the SSPC, the UIF, and the SHCP will develop early detection mechanisms, predictive models based on artificial intelligence, and new sectoral typologies to identify unusual behavior before it causes damage to the financial system.
These casino companies, identified as operating in Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chiapas, the State of Mexico, Mexico City, and Baja California, were marked by three types of characteristics: the use of large amounts of cash; networks that moved money from abroad within the country; and digital operations such as transfers and payment platforms to hide the origin of the funds. Unusual transactions of up to 50 million pesos (US$2.73 million) were detected, as well as international transfers to financial technology companies in the United States and various European countries.
Federal Prosecutor Grisel Galeano García explained that the casino money laundering scheme operated in six steps: 1. A person is lured through deception or identity theft, particularly young students, retired workers, or housewives, whose bank account details are stolen. 2. Prepaid cards or codes with money from unknown sources are sent to them electronically for use in casinos. 3. With these resources, individuals, sometimes without knowing it, place bets in casinos physically or online. 4. The casino system shows that this person has won millions of pesos, but they do not receive the winnings or are unaware that they have won, as the money is immediately sent to accounts abroad and then to tax havens where it is laundered or used in other bets before being returned to the country. 5. In some cases, the individuals do receive the money from their supposed winnings, but they are asked to resend it or use it for other operations. 6. This process is repeated hundreds or thousands of times and with it, the money is laundered.
Mexican Press Agency is part of ALMA, which is dedicated to news and information about Mexico and Mexicans in the United States and is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Focus, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Redwood City, California.
