Colombia captures network that laundered USD 42 million with cryptocurrencies

• The detainees used a combination of financial methods to conceal movements.
• Now, formal extradition proceedings to the United States are underway.

The Attorney General's Office of Colombia, in a coordinated operation with U.S. authorities, successfully captured eight individuals wanted for extradition due to their alleged involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering activities.

According to the Attorney General's Office on October 21, the operations took place simultaneously in the cities of Bogotá, Barranquilla, Maicao, and the municipality of Cajicá, and were carried out by officials from the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) with the support of the National Army and the coordination of a prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate against Criminal Organizations.

The focus of the international investigations is on the sophisticated financial mechanisms that this organization allegedly implemented to conceal the origin of illicit funds.

Notably, the case of Nassim Orfale Vásquez, captured in Barranquilla, stands out, as he is specifically wanted by the Southern District Court of New York.

According to investigations conducted by the Criminal Division of the Internal Revenue Service of the United States (IRS-CI), Orfale Vásquez allegedly participated in a criminal structure dedicated to laundering capital derived from drug trafficking through the use of cryptocurrencies.

U.S. authorities tracked his movements since 2018 and determined that he had moved nearly 42 million dollars through suspicious transactions involving virtual currencies.

On the other hand, the other seven individuals detained during the raid are wanted by a District Court in the United States for the District of Puerto Rico.

This group was allegedly led by Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas, identified by authorities with the aliases Guillo or Gallo. Alongside him, Alex Alberto Castillo Gómez, Jhon Jairo Torres Peláez, Nizar Hachem Sawan, Andrés Mauricio Guarnizo Vaca, Danilo Andrés Hernández Junco, and Juan Daniel Arenas Uribe, alias Juan Arenas, were captured.

According to U.S. judicial requirements, these seven individuals were allegedly part of an organization dedicated to international drug trafficking that structured a complex system to give the appearance of legality to their resources.

To facilitate the circulation and concealment of illicit money, the criminal network resorted to a combination of financial methods.

Colombian authorities detailed that the scheme included the use of tokens, multiple transfers in favor of third parties, and fractional deposits.

These maneuvers were primarily executed using accounts belonging to individuals and legal entities based in Bogotá and Barranquilla, which allowed for the legitimization of funds before integrating them into the traditional system. The director of the CTI, retired General José Luis Ramírez Hinestroza, confirmed the execution of these judicial actions on Colombian territory.

The legal situation of the eight captured individuals is now subject to the progress of formal extradition proceedings. The corresponding authorities must process the requests in accordance with the guidelines established between Colombia and the United States for the prosecution of transnational networks, ensuring compliance with the procedural guarantees of those involved before their transfer to U.S. territory to respond before the district courts that require them.

This event occurs in the context of increased state participation regarding the tracking of movements with bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies globally. For example, CriptoNoticias reported yesterday that the Province of Santa Fe (in Argentina) conducted its first seizure of digital assets from a suspected scam.

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