Court declares 1998 money laundering sting illegal
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Four Mexican bankers accused of laundering drug money have been released after a federal court ruled a massive U.S. sting in 1998 was illegal, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The men, mainly bank branch managers, were released Wednesday after a court ruled that the U.S. sting was unconstitutional, in part because U.S. agents tricked the suspects into laundering money, Reforma newspaper reported.
Thursday was a holiday in Mexico, and court officials were not available to comment.
The men were among 100 people and three Mexican banks indicted in a two-year investigation by the U.S. Customs Department. They were accused of laundering $11 million for the Juarez drug cartel.
The 1998 case strained relations with Mexican officials who said they had not been notified about U.S. operations on Mexican soil.
While Mexico convicted the men of money laundering and sent them to a Mexican jail, they refused U.S. requests to extradite the suspects.
The men were sentenced to 10 years in prison, but released this week after serving roughly half of their sentence.
Some of the Mexican bankers were lured to the Las Vegas area after undercover agents set up a fictional new casino, Casablanca, to attract money launderers.
Undercover agents invited other bankers to the San Diego area for meetings. Many of those bankers were convicted or plead guilty to similar charges in the United States.
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