DOJ names bitcoin wallet in enforcement
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a division of the US Treasury Department, has taken aggressive action against five individuals living in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and in Guatemala. On Friday, OFAC announced sanctions against the five, along with two PRC-based companies. All are said to have played roles in supplying drug cartels with ingredients used to make opioids. In addition, one of the accused is said to have processed payments through a crypto wallet.
Named in the OFAC designation are Yao Huatao, Wu Yaqin, Wu Yonghao, Wang Hongfei and Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea. Also listed are Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology Co., Ltd., and Suzhuo Xiaoli Pharmatech Co., Ltd.
The OFAC notice alleges that Chinese national Yao Huatao, who owns Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology Co. Ltd., oversaw the sale of fentanyl precursors. It alleges that Wu Yaqin and Wu Yonghao acted as sales representatives for the illegal operations. OFAC alleges that Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, a broker based in Guatemala, bought the precursors to the Sinaloa, Mexico-based cartels. OFAC also charges Suzhuo Xiaoli Pharmatech Co. Ltd. for sending the precursors to Mexico.
A claim here is embarrassing for a crypto industry seeking wider acceptance. OFAC alleges that the fifth named individual, Wang Hongfei, owned a cryptocurrency wallet. He allegedly used it to receive bitcoin payments on behalf of the China-based firm.
Cryptocurrency wallets are not difficult to set up. All too often, criminals abuse them to send and receive payments anonymously.
Supply chains
OFAC accuses the five individuals and two entities of supplying precursor chemicals for the production of fentanyl to the cartels. PRC companies are a primary source of precursors that go into the manufacture of fentanyl drugs. Criminals then smuggle drugs across the US-Mexico border and then sell them on American streets.
Amid the opioid epidemic, stemming the flow of precursor drugs into Mexico has been a priority for US law enforcement.
According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control, 67 percent, or 71,941, of the 107,375 overdose deaths in the United States during the twelve-month period through January 2022 involved fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
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