The heir to the Cartier jewelry house was accused of laundering the drug cartel's money through USDT

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The Prosecutor's Office for the Southern District of New York has filed charges against a member of the Cartier family and five Colombian citizens for laundering funds received from drug trafficking through the USDT stablecoin.

According to the authorities, the defendants were members of a money laundering network operating in the United States and Colombia. In their criminal activities, they used a system of brokers and shell companies.

A direct descendant of the jewelry family, Maximilian de Hoop Cartier, has operated an unlicensed OTC cryptocurrency trading platform since around January 2020. Transactions were conducted through a group of fictitious companies, including Bullpix Solutions LLC, Vintech Capital LLC, VC Innovative Technologies LLC, AZ Technologies LLC, Softmill LLC, and Sun Technologies LLC.

His associates Leonardo de Jesus Zualaga Duque, Erica Milena Lopez Ortiz, Alexander Areisa S * * * * los and Adrian Areisa S*** * los imported more than 100 kg of cocaine into the United States. Another defendant, Felipe Estrada Echeverri, was involved in money laundering.

In total, from January 2020 to the present, Cartier's OTC platform has carried out "hundreds of millions of dollars worth of illegal transactions and laundered hundreds of millions of criminal proceeds," including $14.5 million from drug trafficking from May to November 2023.

Cartier was charged with money laundering, bank fraud, and running an unlicensed money transfer business. He was arrested on February 22 in Miami.

Five Colombian citizens were taken into custody by local authorities on April 30.

The case was transferred to the court.

• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/p...-five-colombian-nationals-charged-their-roles

 

[Father]

Cartier brand heir caught laundering cryptocurrency from cocaine sales

In the United States, charges have been brought against members of an international criminal group that tried to import more than a hundred kilograms of cocaine into the country from Colombia. Among its members was the 57-year-old Argentine citizen, philanthropist and musician Maximilian de Hoop Cartier, who is the direct heir to the Cartier brand.

It is noted that Cartier, who permanently resided in France, was arrested in Florida back in February 2024. According to investigators, he has been involved in drug gang crimes since at least 2020.

“Maximilian de Hoop Cartier and five Colombian nationals, ranging in age from 38 to 61, allegedly attempted to import more than 100 kilograms of cocaine and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars, including proceeds from drug trafficking operations, through an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange business,” said FBI Assistant Director James Smith.

Investigators believe that Cartier created several shell companies in the United States, and also created bank accounts allegedly related to the Cartier brand. All of them were on paper developing software, but in reality they were used to launder money from drug dealers. Max Cartier did not take part directly in the processes of drug trade and supply. However, he has been charged with several counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, fraud and several others. The maximum sentence he faces is 85 years.