Drug cartels and crime gangs in Latin America take up virtual currencies to launder money, receive payments, and sell drugs on the darknet because law enforcement authorities are finding it harder to detect the deals
For decades, drug traffickers carried their cash in suitcases to dodge banking controls, and the police. Today, many are also using virtual cryptocurrency wallets installed on their cellphones.
The cases highlight how drug cartels and crime gangs in Latin America have taken up virtual currencies to launder money, receive payments, and sell drugs on the darknet because law enforcement authorities are finding it harder to detect the deals, researchers and officials say. The MS-13 criminal gang that operates in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala has been using bitcoin as a way for victims to hand over extortion payments and as payment for transporting cocaine to Mexico, the report found.
To move money through cryptocurrency platforms, criminals are taking advantage of unregulated exchanges that do not require proof of identification or registration information, said crypto intelligence company CipherTrace. Countries with few or no compliance requirements around money laundering are proving attractive for criminals using cryptocurrency, said Goodwin from the GAO.
Drug traffickers have taken advantage of more people being online, and they also advertise drugs on dating sites and apps, such as Grindr and Tinder, the UNODC report says.
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