The Attorney General’s Office of Colombia reported, through a statement published on December 15, the capture and prosecution of two brothers accused of laundering money through cryptocurrencies for the Venezuelan criminal group known as the Aragua Train.
According to the entity, Félix Eduardo and Félix Alfredo Herrera Durán they would have participated for at least two years in the collection, transformation, mobilization and concealment of illicit resources. These come from hitmen, extortion and the sale of narcotics, mainly in Bogotá, Medellín (Antioquia), and Cúcuta (Norte de Santander).
The maneuvers were identified through coordinated work between the Colombian Police and the United States Anti-Drug Agency (DEA).
The investigation established that The brothers used cryptocurrencies and digital wallets to move large sums of money. In addition, they allegedly resorted to two exchange houses without authorization from the Financial Superintendency of Colombia.
According to the authorities of the South American country, in these places they carried out fractional movements and international transactions that were presented as supposed remittances, with the aim of appearing legal.
The Prosecutor’s Office established that Félix Eduardo mobilized more than 11,270 million Colombian pesos (COP) –a sum equivalent to 2.9 million dollars (USD)–. To do this, he supposedly used a Colombian bank, two digital wallets and a cryptocurrency platform.
The agency argues that the accused carried out a total of 1,938 commercial and financial operations.
For his part, Félix Alfredo Herrera Durán managed nearly 4.5 billion pesos – 1.1 million dollars – which he invested in cryptocurrencies or transferred in a fragmented manner.
Captures, blockades and a regional pattern of money laundering
The arrests were made in Bogotá by officials of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) and the Colombian National Police. During the procedures, the authorities seized six computers, three SIM cards, two microSD memories, four hard drives, a tablet, a USB memory and 1.2 million pesos – about $315 – in cash.
A prosecutor from the Special Directorate against Criminal Organizations presented the two brothers before a guarantee control judge. He charged them with the crimes of aggravated criminal conspiracy and money laundering and ordered their preventive detention.
In addition, the judge ordered the blocking of ten banking products linked to those investigated, which totaled approximately 70 million pesos – $18,400.
On the other hand, In the United States, Alfredo Durán Guerrero was arrested in Texas. The authorities identified him for maintaining an alleged direct link with Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero”, top leader of the Aragua Train.
According to the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia, this person would have transferred more than 450 million pesos from “a digital pocket” in the country to an international cryptocurrency platform.
This case is part of a broader pattern of financial operations of the Tren de Aragua in Latin America. As reported by CriptoNoticias, in July of this year the Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Police (PDI) of Chile dismantled a network of this organization, accused of laundering 13.5 million dollars through cryptocurrencies. That operation concluded with the arrest of 52 people and the freezing of more than 250 bank accounts.