(Bloomberg) – When American prosecutors painted this week blame from the Mexican drug king, painted his life punishment as justice for thousands of deaths caused by his addictive products and non -cuddly violence in the hands of his recovery.
But another aspect of the agreement with Ismael Zambada Garcia, co -founder of the Sinaloa cartel, known as “El Mayo”, raised his eyebrows: The US said he agreed to fail a stunning $ 15 billion that the government has calculated from drug trade since the age of 80.
It is unlikely that the US would recover more than a fraction of what it is looking for.
The US courts commonly require those who have been convicted of crimes, to fail any revenues associated with illegal activity and often go to the government directly. Funds can also be returned to victims. In cases of sophisticated rings for drug trafficking and financial frauds, the amounts can be huge. But often the money is long gone and impossible to recover.
Indoor the command to forfeit gives us prosecutors a chance to show his hard bona fides on crime because President Donald Trump is trying to intervene against drug cartels. His administration focused on Mexican banks accused of helping money washing and threatening military power against traders.
“Monitoring money is the way we are dealing with these cases,” said Pam Bondi prosecutor on Monday. “The guy, El Mayo, lived like a king and now lives as a criminal for the rest of his life. He lived in the palace.”
According to experts in the forfeiture of assets, it is likely to be concerned that the palace or any other wealth is likely to be difficult. High -level criminal companies often use sophisticated methods to store their wealth, using everything from rich properties scattered around the world to cryptocurrency and even betting in legitimate companies to hide their wealth. In one case, the US said they had tracked money for Sinaloa Cartel drugs for the purchase of aircraft, engines and Volvo power trailer.
“Money is not in a lot of cash, it is in an extremely diversified set of assets,” said Edmundo Sandal, associated director of global risk analysis in Control Risks in Mexico City. “What part of it will be handed over? I wouldn’t dare to give you an estimate, but it will be symbolic.” He would say he would be “absurd” throughout the amount.
The $ 15 billion rating was calculated based on the assessment of the estimates of the cartel from the earlier “El Chapo” Guzman process, Zambada co -founder of the Sinaloa cartel, and then considered another time when Zambada was arrested after Guzman’s arrest.
The US law firm refused to comment on the probability of seizing asset. Frank Perez, the defending champion Zambady, refused to comment. The Guzman attorney immediately did not return the call to search for comments.
In other cases, payouts have not taken place over the years.
Bernard Madoff, who admitted to organize a decade -long ponzi, was ordered to fall $ 170 billion in addition to the 150 -year -old prison period. Before his death in prison in 2021, he paid only a small part of the amount.
Sam Bankman, fried, co -founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange, was ordered to fall $ 11 billion and serve 25 years in prison for fraud belief. Bill Hwang, who was convicted last year from fraud and manipulation with the market, was ordered to fall $ 12 billion and spend 18 years behind bars. Both refer to their cases.
El Chapo Guzman was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years and ordered $ 12.6 billion in the unlawful profits of the same judge who chair the case of Zambady. While the trial testimony showed that Guzman once owned a zoo, apartments and more houses, a spokesman for Brooklyn American lawyer Joseph Nocell refused to comment on how much the government had recovered.
Other attempts to seize funds have gained a greater part of what was sought. After the US launched an effort in 2016 to gain at least $ 4.5 billion looted from the Malaysian fund of 1MDB in criminal prosecution, the Ministry of Justice said in January that it had received $ 1.7 billion in stolen assets associated with these criminal cases.
Zambada said in his actions agreement that he began selling marijuana as a teenage in the field before he eventually led a violent cartel with an international reach. He admitted to the bribes to politicians, the army and the police.
According to his own lawyer and the American enforcement of law, his underage came dramatically. He was arrested in July 2024 after allegedly lured to Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, in Mexico Culiacan. As soon as he was there, he was attacked, tied and forced into a private aircraft.
The aircraft carried Guzman Lopez and Zambada across the border, where the US authorities detained them in El Paso, Texas.
When American officials try to collect money that Zambada has agreed to forfeit, drug kingpin is not the responsibility of helping to search, according to Steven L. Kessler, an asset expert in New York, who runs his own law firm.
“The numbers are clearly for the purposes of release,” Kessler said. “Does the government collect for money? It is tested, but after a certain point it is another case.”
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(Tattentranslate) DrugKingkingpin (T) Sinala Cartel (T) Ismel Zambada Garcia (T) Falling asset
