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Cartier Jewelry Heir Arrested in Crypto Money Laundering Case May 07, 2024 (0 comments)
Miami, FL--Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, heir to the Cartier jewelry legacy, has been indicted by the US Justice Department for laundering drug trafficking proceeds using cryptocurrency.
[Image via Agustina Torres/istock.com]
Per a report in Protos, Maximilien, who was arrested in Miami, allegedly collaborated with a Colombian drug cartel to import 100 kilograms of cocaine and launder money primarily through cryptocurrency transactions.
Alongside five Colombian nationals, he succeeded in laundering about 14.5 million USDT—cryptocurrency tether—before their apprehension. Currently detained in Miami, his accomplices are incarcerated in Colombia.
As per the report, the indictment details how Maximilien used shell companies, which he misrepresented as software and technology firms, to deceive financial institutions. These companies functioned as unlicensed money transmitters, converting illicit gains into cryptocurrencies like USDT, dollars, and pesos, simplifying money laundering.
The report noted that Maximilien, who has lived predominantly in France and holds Argentine citizenship, faces charges including money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, transacting with criminally derived property, and operating without a money transmitter license.
Learn more in this report published by Protos. In addition, view the original press from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.