The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sweeping sanctions on a sprawling Mexico-based crime ring accused of smuggling thousands of illegal aliens into the United States and laundering millions in illicit profits.
The Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, based in Cancun, was designated a transnational criminal organization under an executive order targeting global trafficking networks.
According to the Treasury Department, the group's leader, Vikrant Bhardwaj, and his wife, Indu Rani, are dual Indian-Mexican nationals who ran a sophisticated network moving illegal migrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia through Mexico and across the U.S. border.
The operation allegedly relied on yachts, private marinas, and hotels to transport and house migrants before moving them north, often in coordination with associates linked to the Sinaloa cartel.
"The Treasury Department, under the direction of Secretary [Scott] Bessent and President [Donald] Trump, is cracking down on human smugglers," said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
"This action disrupts a network that has profited from illegal migration and endangered countless lives."
Bhardwaj, described as the self-identified founder and CEO of several companies in Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates, allegedly used those businesses to conceal proceeds from human smuggling, drug trafficking, and bribery.
Officials said Bhardwaj's wife, Rani, was deeply involved in the organization's finances and acted as co-shareholder in several shell firms used to move money across borders.
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned three senior associates of Bhardwaj who played key roles in smuggling logistics and bribing Mexican officials, including a former police officer in Quintana Roo with access to Cancun International Airport.
In total, OFAC designated 16 companies in Mexico, India, and the UAE connected to the organization. Those include real estate and construction firms, yacht operators, and trading companies used to launder illicit funds.
The designations mean all property and assets belonging to Bhardwaj, Rani, and their associates in U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are barred from conducting any transactions with them.
Treasury coordinated the action with Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Mexico's financial intelligence unit (UIF) to dismantle what officials described as a "major human smuggling corridor" stretching from Tapachula to Mexicali.
"The Trump Administration will continue to target and dismantle transnational criminal organizations to protect the American people," Hurley said.
Violations of U.S. sanctions can result in civil or criminal penalties, the Treasury warned. The department added that the goal of the sanctions is not only to punish but to compel offenders to change their behavior and cease criminal activity.
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