Venezuelan National Charged in $1B Crypto Laundering Scheme Spanning Continents
Federal prosecutors have unveiled a sprawling cryptocurrency money-laundering case against Jorge Figueira, a 59-year-old Venezuelan national accused of orchestrating a $1 billion scheme through shell companies and crypto wallets. The operation allegedly funneled illicit funds across high-risk jurisdictions including Colombia, China, and Mexico.
Court documents reveal a sophisticated laundering apparatus: cash converted to cryptocurrency, cycled through layered wallets, then cashed out via trading platforms. Prosecutors identified over $1 billion in transactions between 2018-2024, with funds deliberately routed to evade detection.
The case highlights growing law enforcement scrutiny of cross-border crypto flows. 'This network exploited the very features that make cryptocurrency attractive—pseudonymity and global reach—to conceal criminal proceeds,' noted the FBI in a statement accompanying the charges.
