Chinese Nationals Charged in Transnational Money Laundering Scheme Linked to Mexican Cartels

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds on behalf of transnational criminal organisations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), according to an indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu are alleged to have laundered drug money over a period spanning nearly nine years, from November 2016 to April 2025. Both defendants remain at large following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on 24 April 2025.

Court documents reveal that Zhen, Wu, and their co-conspirators employed a range of secretive and clandestine methods to move illicit funds across borders. These techniques included mirror transfers, foreign bank accounts, encrypted communications applications, a serial-number verification system, and trade-based money laundering (TBML). The proceeds were derived from the importation and sale of illicit narcotics, including cocaine and fentanyl. The conspiracy operated across multiple jurisdictions, with co-conspirators based in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, China, and elsewhere.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Operations Division's Bilateral Investigations Unit, with support from the DEA's Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit, and field offices across the United States, including Memphis Resident Office (RO), Lexington RO, Chicago Field Division (FD), New York FD, Washington FD, Charleston RO, Atlanta FD, and Charlotte District Office. International support was provided by the DEA's Bogota Country Office (CO) and Dubai CO.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx of the DEA's Special Operations Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant US Attorney Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia, with substantial assistance from MNF Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell. The case forms part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organisations.

If convicted, Zhen and Wu each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Read the press release here.