Treasury Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel Crypto Network — 6 ETH Wallets Blacklisted
U.S. Treasury sanctioned 6 Ethereum wallets linked to Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl laundering. All USDT and USDC frozen. Over $6.3M was moved through these wallets before the freeze.
On May 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's OFAC designated more than a dozen individuals and entities linked to the Sinaloa Cartel's fentanyl trafficking and cryptocurrency laundering operations. Six Ethereum wallet addresses were added to the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list.
Both Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) responded swiftly — USDC was blacklisted within minutes at 15:19–15:31 UTC, and USDT followed at 15:59 UTC. All six wallets had $0 balances at the time of the freeze — funds had already been moved.
Sanctioned Wallets
| # | Address | Total USDT Moved | Total USDC Moved | Last Transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0xf2235d55b2950a0b1317469d72d07ae65b2e27cb | $1,577,099 | $8,776 | Apr 27, 2026 |
| 2 | 0x4F428c11Dc82388fa5136D636e613ad923Eb700B | $1,704,264 | — | Nov 29, 2023 |
| 3 | 0x038989cbb1710c72b9920dc4fa529158f463e72c | $1,098,599 | — | Jan 21, 2023 |
| 4 | 0x32dA24Ca413F3E7B53145D4737e172C3bdF81e3e | $732,769 | $733,318 | May 3, 2023 |
| 5 | 0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964 | $233,064 | $233,055 | Feb 17, 2023 |
| 6 | 0xaC4cC4B68ea24BbFAAC8fD127B67Ed445ACcCE22 | — | $27,966 | Aug 4, 2023 |
Funds Were Drained Before the Freeze
All wallets were emptied before OFAC designation. The most active wallet, 0xf2235d55b2950a0b1317469d72d07ae65b2e27cb, moved $1.58M USDT across 69 transactions to Binance (0x28C6c06298d514Db089934071355E5743bf21d60), with the last transfer of $895 USDT on April 27, 2026 — 23 days before the blacklist.
Wallet 0x4F428c11Dc82388fa5136D636e613ad923Eb700B sent $1.7M USDT to Binance across 40 transactions, last active November 2023. Wallet 0x038989cbb1710c72b9920dc4fa529158f463e72c moved $1.1M USDT to Binance in 19 transactions, last active January 2023.
Total stablecoin volume across all 6 wallets: over $6.3 million.
Key Last Transactions
| Address | Amount | To | Date | Tx Hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0xf2235d55b2950a0b1317469d72d07ae65b2e27cb | $895 USDT | Binance | Apr 27, 2026 | 0x1344...9eef |
| 0x4F428c11Dc82388fa5136D636e613ad923Eb700B | $20,000 USDT | Binance | Nov 29, 2023 | 0xdc87...17b7 |
| 0x038989cbb1710c72b9920dc4fa529158f463e72c | $8,144 USDT | Binance | Jan 21, 2023 | 0x9b33...79aa |
| 0x32dA24Ca413F3E7B53145D4737e172C3bdF81e3e | $0 USDT | 0x4F44B07315136008136a6a013e8CD18cBd2b700b | May 3, 2023 | 0x1b76...7e95 |
| 0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964 | $78.26 USDT | 0x8D125e822a805CdE8cb3C9098B8193BCC8452050 | Feb 17, 2023 | 0x70a1...6e3b |
| 0xaC4cC4B68ea24BbFAAC8fD127B67Ed445ACcCE22 | $0 USDC | 0xA9d1E087C2018C9af2C1daB1E59Db7a0B81D3E43 | Aug 4, 2023 | 0x9ba0...8845 |
Background
The operation, titled "Breaking the Blockchain," targeted a crypto laundering network run by Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, who converted bulk U.S. drug sale cash into cryptocurrency for transfer to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. A second network led by Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas (with a $5M DEA reward) was also designated.
This is one of the largest cartel-related crypto sanctions actions, demonstrating OFAC's expanding focus on cryptocurrency-based money laundering networks supporting narco-trafficking.
Links
- U.S. Treasury Press Release (sb0503)
- USDTBanList Sanctions Database — check any address against OFAC SDN and NBCTF lists
Check any wallet for free
Real-time USDT/USDC blacklist monitoring