• US authorities are pursuing a money laundering case involving Deltec Bank & Trust and Mitsubishi Bank.
• At least $58 million has been confiscated from the accounts held by Deltec at Mitsubishi Bank.
• According to an affidavit, the funds were laundered from crypto scams and other fraudulent schemes.
US Law Enforcement Investigates Money Laundering Case
US law enforcement authorities are currently pursuing a money laundering case involving Deltec Bank & Trust and Mitsubishi Bank. The Feds have confiscated at least $58 million from its accounts held at Mitsubishi Bank for allegedly laundering funds generated from crypto scams and other fraudulent schemes.
Deltec Accounts Seized By Federal Authorities
Based on the affidavit, the seizures occurred on June 13 and June 15. The targeted accounts in question were custodial accounts which Deltec opened at Mitsubushi Bank UFJ Trust in New York on behalf of their corporate clients. According to the report, Deltec Bank held funds from shell companies which had duped clients through various fraudulent crypto schemes. Upon failing to acquire information about the companies from Deltec, Mitsubushi Bank raised concerns regarding the accounts of Axis Digital Limited and GTAL.
74 Shell Companies Suspected Of Receiving Funds Derived From Wire Fraud
Federal law enforcement officials have identified a minimum of 74 shell companies suspected of receiving funds derived from wire fraud. The Bahamas-based bank allegedly laundered these funds on behalf of its clients.
The FTX Money-Laundering Saga
News of Deltec’s alleged involvement with money laundering is not new. The bank also had deep connections with defunct crypto exchange FTX. Moreover, its Chairman, Jean Chalopin, allegedly used his friendship with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the CEO of FTX, to secure a $50 million loan for his company in return for providing “a suite of non-routine, high risk banking services to FTX” . A Class Action Complaint against Celtec Bank earlier revealed the depth of the alleged corruption according to allegations made in it..
Conclusion
US law enforcement authorities have seized millions of dollars worth of assets as part of their ongoing investigation into international criminal money laundering syndicates operating cryptocurrency investment and other wire fraud scams utilizing shell companies overseas to hide their source, nature, ownership and control over these funds
