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United States/Mexico Bi-National Drug Strategy

Strategy Component

Alliance Point 12: Implement more effectively the laws and regulations to detect and penalize money laundering in both countries, and enhance bilateral and multilateral exchanges of information and expertise to combat money laundering.

The United States and Mexico acknowledge that money laundering is a transnational crime, and thus regard bilateral and multilateral cooperation as an essential tool in combating this illicit activity. Accordingly, they have decided to strengthen information exchange mechanisms and to support multilateral initiatives to combat the problem.

Both countries will also assign priority to conducting coordinated investigations in accordance with the bilateral agreement on that subject, the Financial Information Exchange Agreement (FIEA), and to continuing technical assistance and training programs. The two countries also have committed to increasing their individual efforts to prevent, detect, and prosecute money laundering.

Objectives

  1. Enhance law enforcement efforts in Mexico and the United States, including prosecutions, against money laundering to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking operations.

  2. Update and strengthen the legal framework to prevent, detect and combat money laundering.

  3. Enhance United States and Mexican efforts to protect the security and integrity of their respective financial entities.

  4. Implement mechanisms to streamline ongoing official proceedings in money laundering cases.

  5. Increase training efforts in Mexico and the United States for regulators, investigators, judges, legislators, prosecutors, and financial entity personnel in money laundering prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution.
Actions
  1. Both countries’ authorities responsible for preventing, detecting, and combating money laundering will make an effort to achieve efficient and effective coordination.

    2. 1.1  Mexico and the United States will enhance investigations and prosecutions of major money launderers and their organizations, to include increasing the number of coordinated investigations.

    1.2  Spontaneously, based on the international agreements in force between the two countries, relevant or significant information will be exchanged in order to detect, prevent and combat money laundering.

    1.3  The two countries are committed to reducing the time in information exchange.

    1.4  Mexico and the United States will continue to compare data on currency being transported across the United States-Mexican border and will make all efforts to ensure that the data collected by each party is compatible with any other data collected.

    1.4.1  By common accord, the two countries will establish methods and timetables for sending, receipt and analysis of information regarding cross-border money transfers.

    1.4.2  Where appropriate, the United States and Mexico will endeavor to increase the sharing of information, based on agreements and treaties in effect, on United States or Mexican citizens or businesses believed to be carrying out money laundering transactions in both countries.

    1.5  The governments of both countries will work to enhance their sharing of currency transaction report and suspicious activity report information that is directly related to money laundering, pursuant to the FIEA or any other mechanism or agreement.

    1.6  The United States and Mexico will increase efforts to expedite the exchange of documentation and legal assistance, based on the framework of the Agreement on Mutual Judicial Assistance.

    1. The Governments of Mexico and the United States will review periodically the laws and regulations to prevent, detect, combat and penalize money laundering in order to adopt the necessary amendments or reforms.

    2. Both countries will develop programs and strategies in order to ensure that banks and other financial entities and their officers and employees comply with requirements established to keep records and file transaction reports.

    3. The United States and Mexico will support the adoption of concrete measures against money laundering on a global level, on the basis of the FATF 40 Recommendations and the Summit of the Americas Communiqué adopted in Buenos Aires, and during the meetings of the Preparatory Committee of the Special Session of the United Nations in June 1998.

    4. The two countries will coordinate efforts to design and develop specific training plans and programs aimed at analysts, regulators, investigators, prosecutors, judges, legislators and personnel in financial entities.

      5. 5.1  Mechanisms will be implemented so that the competent authorities exchange knowledge in an ongoing fashion, in order to make them known to analysts, investigators, financial agency personnel, and the prosecutors in the two countries.

      5.2  The United States will make its law enforcement agents stationed in Mexico available to train PGR and the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (Hacienda) personnel in techniques used to investigate money laundering.

      5.3  Visits between the two countries will be scheduled to gain knowledge of the techniques and analysis procedures in investigation, as well as in the administrative, civil and penal proceedings applicable in each of the two countries.

      5.4  The United States will make training opportunities available for Mexican prosecutors from the PGR, and analysts from Hacienda.

      5.4.1  The United States and Mexico will work to establish programs that permit selected prosecutors, investigators, and analysts from PGR and Hacienda to visit the United States to observe prosecutions of money laundering cases and to visit United States law enforcement task forces.

    5. The Governments of Mexico and the United States will plan an Annual Seminar on the efforts of both countries against money laundering. The initial seminar will include investigators, regulators and specialized prosecutors. Later sessions will include judges and legislators.