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FinCen Letter From Attorney
FinCen Letter From Attorney
GERGER
HENNESSY
MCEARLANE
I am counsel for Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca. He is the Governor of the Free
& Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, Mexico. In addition, he, his brothers and his spouse are
all United States citizens. I am writing to you because of news reports that confidential
FinCEN information is being leaked to the Mexican press by the Mexican Financial
Intelligence Unit, or “UIF,” and its leader Santiago Nieto. I know that such reports would
be of concern to you. If you confirm the reports, it would expose an extreme breach of
trust by the UIF and Mr. Nieto.
One type of sensitive information that FinCEN may share is a Suspicious Activity
Report (“SAR”). SARs are transactional reports generated by U.S. financial institutions as
part of their internal governance. They do not necessarily reflect criminal or illegal
activity: in fact, most SARs do not even indicate an active U.S. investigation, much less
the existence of a U.S. crime.
On March 3, 2021, the Chair of the Egmont Group, Ms. Hennie Verbeek-Kusters,
reported “deeply concerning allegations” that Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) were
1001 Fannin Street, Suite 2450 Houston, Texas 77002 713.224.4400 ghmfirm.com
This material is distributed by David Gerger on behalf of Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca.
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abusing confidential infonnation received from other countries. Ms. Verbeek-Kusters did
not identify the offending FIUs. However, as set out below, the Mexican UIF is reportedly
publicizing confidential “suspicious activity reports” about my client that it received from
FinCEN. Such publication would violate FinCEN and Egmont Group rules.
Michael Mosier,
Esq. April 15, 2021
Page 3
These are just two out of 15 examples cited in the Proceso article.
Spanish English:
“(Resendez) was found included in the list from the
“(Resendez) se encuen- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), with
tra incluido en la lista Fi a date of 2008 for suspicious activity of money
nancial Crimes Enforce laundering in the amount of 4 million, 315 thousand 800
ment Network (FinCcn), dollars,” said the FIU in its complaint to the FGR that
serves as the basis for the accusation against the
con fecha de insercion de
Governor of Tamaulipas.
2008 por actividad sospe-
chosa de lavado de dinero
por un monto de 4 mi Ho
nes 315 mil 800 dolares”,
dijo la UTF en su querella
a la FGR y que fundamen-
ta la solicitud de desafue-
ro del Gobemador de Ta-
maulipas.
Publicizing the content of a SAR, or even the fact of a SAR’s existence, violates the
Egmont principles; damages innocent citizens; and undermines confidence in law
enforcement locally and internationally. As the Egmont Group Chair summarized on
March 3:
“Any abuse of FIU powers compromises trust and is detrimental to the credibility
of our global network.” See Ex. A.
Trusting that shared information, such as SARs, will remain confidential is critical to the
efficacy of the group. If the news reports are to be believed, then the UIF has violated that
trust.
SARs are strictly confidential under United States law. See 31 C.F.R. § 1020.320(e)
(“A SAR, and any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, are confidential
and shall not be disclosed except as authorized [by law].”). Improper disclosure is a felony
crime punishable by fines and up to five years in prison. See 31 USC 5322(a).
See also United States v. Fry, 29 Cr. 102 (N. D. Cal. 2019) (IRS agent charged and pled
guilty for sharing SAR reports that were then leaked to the press).
Regardless of the criminal law, the disclosures described above merit concern.
Nor would this be the first time that officials in Mexico may have abused the trust
of the Egmont system. We understand that in April 2004, FinCEN suspended sharing
information with the UIF, after it breached Egmont protocols through the unauthorized
disclosure of FinCEN information. While the details of the breach are not accessible to the
Conclusion
Respectfully,
David Gerger
“... We have it very clear, we don’t make ... assertions that go against the
presumption of innocence,” Gertz Manero said, adding that statements of
such a nature are not legitimate and create a “serious crisis” in the process of
prosecuting a suspected criminal.
This material is distributed by David Gerger on behalf of Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca.
Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
Nieto, who was fired from his role as the top electoral crimes
prosecutor in the previous government, has taken on a leading role in the
fight against corruption initiated by the current administration and spoken out
about several investigations conducted by the UIF.
He has revealed at press conferences that the UIF has frozen or requested the
freezing of bank accounts held by high-profile figures including former
cabinet secretary Rosario Robles, ex-Pemex chief Emilio Lozoya and former
Pemex workers’ union leader Carlos Romero Deschamps.
National Action Party Senator Xochitl Galvez charged that the government is
using the UIF to carry out a campaign of “fiscal terrorism.”
Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador himself has come very close to disrespecting the
presumption of innocence if he hasn’t actually crossed the line.
Lopez Obrador has also insinuated that fonner president Felipe Calderon was
complicit with organized crime although he has ruled out an investigation in
relation to the charges against his security secretary “because it would create
the perception that we’re doing it for political purposes.”
This material is distributed by David Gerger on behalf of Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca.
Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.