A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois sentenced a Chinese citizen to ten years in prison on Monday (December 16) for his involvement in laundering $62 million for Mexican drug traffickers.
Haiping Pan, 44 years old, conspired with others from 2016 to 2018 to launder drug proceeds of up to $3 million per month using secret funds in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other areas in the United States. They then engaged in a series of currency exchanges between the United States and China, as well as China and Mexico.
Pan played a crucial role in the money laundering process, using his international financial expertise and relationships with members or associates of Mexican drug cartels to facilitate the secret flow of drug funds through businesses and banks worldwide, ultimately funneling the illicit profits to Mexican traffickers.
During the conspiracy, Pan and his accomplices made one to two pickups per week, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million each time. He was involved in laundering approximately $62 million.
While residing in Guadalajara, Mexico, he facilitated the transfers and was eventually arrested in Mexico before being extradited to the United States in 2022. Last Thursday, Judge Sharon Coleman sentenced him to 10 years in prison at a hearing held in federal court in Chicago.
According to the court’s sentencing memorandum, “The defendant has been an important part of a recent phenomenon in which a relatively small network of Chinese currency brokers has dominated the international money laundering market. The defendant’s actions enabled his drug trafficking clients to expedite their illicit transactions faster, cheaper, and safer than ever before.”
In addition to Pan, other money launderers were convicted in the federal investigation, including Pan’s accomplices Xianbing Gan, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and Huanxin Long, who received a 5-and-a-half-year sentence.
Gan is believed to be the first core member of a Chinese money laundering group to be tried and plead guilty in the United States. Court documents reveal that due to the “fast and low-cost” money laundering services operated by Chinese individuals, they have become a major conduit for Mexican drug traffickers to launder money in the past five years. Between 2016 and 2017, the organization led by Gan handled at least $48 million from Mexican drug traffickers, converting them into legitimate funds through financial transactions.