A resident of Florida has been charged with laundering over $300 million in drug proceeds, including funds linked to the notorious Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal organizations.
Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Florida but a citizen of France and Colombia, allegedly used a technology company as a front for a complex money laundering operation.
The indictment, unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, charges Mitrani with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
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According to the indictment, Mitrani and his co-conspirators disguised their illicit activities behind a seemingly legitimate technology company. However, this was a cover for a sophisticated money laundering scheme based in Florida and Colombia, designed to help cartels and other criminal organizations repatriate their illegal profits.
“As alleged, the defendant used a seemingly legitimate technology company as a front for engaging in a multi-million dollar scheme that deliberately flouted federal laws to launder over $300 million, including for cartels and transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking,” stated United States Attorney John J. Durham.
Mitrani allegedly created numerous shell companies and bank accounts to move the illicit funds, obscuring their origins and avoiding detection. He also failed to register his business as a money-transmitting business, as required by law.
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The indictment further alleges that Mitrani used his ill-gotten gains to finance a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing a $4 million Miami mansion, acquiring expensive jewelry, and enjoying luxury travel.
“Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani’s alleged money laundering scheme crumbled today, as did any façade of legitimacy behind his purported technology business,” stated HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso. “These accusations mark the beginning of the end for an alleged criminal organization that stands accused of defrauding financial institutions and enabling the availability of narcotics to American communities.”
If convicted, Mitrani faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy charges and five years for the unlicensed money transmitting conspiracy charge.
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