Cartel Bought Stake in Bank, Paper Says
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MEXICO CITY — The nation’s most powerful drug cartel bought a controlling stake in a small, struggling Mexican bank in 1995 and 1996 in a bid to have a private money-laundering operation, a newspaper reported Monday.
Citing government documents, Reforma newspaper said the Juarez cartel once run by the late Amado Carrillo Fuentes, alias “Lord of the Skies,” negotiated directly with two directors of the Grupo Financiero Anahuac, one of whom is the nephew of a former Mexican president.
Bank officials could not be reached for comment.
It was unclear how useful the bank may have been to the cartel because the government intervened and took control of the bank shortly after the controlling interest changed hands, Reforma said.
Grupo Financiero Anahuac is a privately held financial group that includes the bank unit Banco Anahuac, a currency exchange house and other businesses.
Reforma said two representatives of Carrillo’s Juarez cartel negotiated the deal, buying a stake worth about $10 million.
Carrillo died in July after plastic surgery, allegedly killed by his doctors.
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