Published on: November 14, 2025, at 09:31 AM.
Updated on: November 14, 2025, at 09:31 AM.
- US targets Hysa cartel casinos for massive money laundering operations
- Mexico and the US collaborate on Sinaloa financial network crackdown
- Offshore entities utilized to disguise casino-driven laundering schemes
The US government has imposed sanctions on an Albanian-born Mexican casino proprietor for purported connections to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Luftar Hysa was among 27 individuals and entities cited on Thursday by the US Treasury Department as part of a coordinated effort to disrupt international money laundering systems.
Hysa also has affiliations in Canada and previously held a stake in Magic Palace Casino Montreal.
The Hysa network is associated with at least 10 casinos across Mexico that are identified as “primary concerns for money laundering,” per the Treasury Department. This includes establishments like Emine, Mirage, Midas, Palermo, and Skampa.
The sanctions were issued just one day after the Mexican government revealed it had frozen bank accounts of 13 casinos in Mexico amid allegations of connections to organized crime.
Increased US Pressure
This action was a result of a joint investigation conducted by Mexican law enforcement and the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces mounting US pressure to dismantle the Sinaloa cartel and its affiliates alongside other drug trafficking organizations.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimates that Mexican cartels control around 70% of the foreign narcotics influx into the United States.
“This joint effort will bolster Mexico’s ability to prevent, identify, and dismantle the financial networks of criminal organizations along with their money laundering operations,” stated Mexico’s Security Minister, Omar Garcia Harfuch, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Cartel Finances
US authorities assert that the Hysa Organized Crime Group (HOCG), which encompasses family members Arben Hysa, Ramiz Hysa, Fatos Hysa, and Fabjon Hysa, has leveraged its influence through investments or operational control over various Mexican businesses, including casinos and restaurants, to launder narcotics profits.
The Sinaloa Cartel oversees or significantly influences the regions where the Hysa group conducts its operations.
Grisel Galeano, Chief Federal Tax Prosecutor of Mexico, explained that their money laundering technique involved utilizing stolen or borrowed identities to create the illusion of ordinary people winning substantial casino prizes, when in fact, these “winnings” were cartel money being laundered and moved internationally.
In Mexico, there are a total of 5,256 casinos, with the majority situated in Mexico City and the states of Yucatán and Nuevo León.