Four Billion of US Remittances to Mexico Could Be Linked to Crime

  • New report sheds light on illegalities in remittances boom
  • Money sent from states with low Mexican population a red flag

Mexican pesos and US dollar banknotes.

Photographer: AFP/Getty Images
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Nearly 8% of the record $58 billion that Mexicans mainly living in the US sent home last year appear to be linked to illegal activities, including money laundering, according to a new report by a Mexico-based data think tank.

Remittances to Mexico have been booming in recent years due to new migration to its northern neighbor but at least $4.4 billion of such transfers could be linked to criminal activity, Signos Vitales, a think tank that groups researchers who analyze public data in Mexico, said in a report on Monday.