Cartier, a direct descendant of the founder of the luxury jewelry brand Cartier, Louis Cartier has been arrested by US authorities on charges of attempting to import 100 kilograms of cocaine and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars, primarily through over-the-counter (OTC) USDT transactions.
According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Maximilien de Hoop Cartier was implicated in a criminal deal with a Colombian drug cartel. The DoJ also stated that five other Colombian nationals are linked to the accusations.
Authorities revealed that Cartier established multiple shell companies. However, the shell companies which were presented as legitimate businesses operating in the software and technology sector were utilized by Cartier as unlicensed money transmitters, facilitating the laundering of criminal proceeds.
Instead of conducting legitimate business activities, Cartier’s companies were used as channels for transferring money without the necessary licenses or regulatory oversight.
The allegation affirmed that by operating as unlicensed money transmitters, the companies helped to “clean” or launder the proceeds of criminal activities.
Despite efforts to conceal these actions, law enforcement agencies intercepted a huge portion of the illicit transactions, amounting to 14.5 million USDT. Details also reveal that Cartier is currently detained in a Miami correctional facility, awaiting trial on four counts of criminal misconduct.
The charges include money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, transacting in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and operating as an unlicensed money remitter.
The Cartier family is known for their luxury jewelry empire. The book “The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire” chronicles four generations of this Cartier jewelry dynasty, tracing their history from revolutionary France to the 1970s.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, USDT has become one of the prominent payment methods for money laundering and scams in Southeast Asia.
The report highlights that the anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies like USDT, combined with the lack of stringent regulations, creates a fertile ground for money launderers and scammers to operate.
The report notes that online gambling platforms, especially those operating illegally, have emerged as among the most popular vehicles for cryptocurrency-based money laundering, particularly using USDT.
Read also; UK report lists crypto firms as high-risk for money laundering in 2022-2023
