The U.S. Department of the Treasury <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0470">announced</a> Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will revise Form 990 to increase transparency and curb misconduct within tax-exempt organizations. The move specifically targets fiscal sponsorship arrangements, government grants, and contracts—mechanisms critics argue have been exploited by &#8220;dark money&#8221; networks to operate without public scrutiny.
“We are ending the days of hiding fraud, abuse, and extremist activity behind complicated nonprofit arrangements,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He warned that directors and officers of organizations misusing charitable structures would face increased &#8220;scrutiny, accountability, and liability under the law.&#8221;
The announcement comes amid intensifying investigations into prominent liberal networks like Tides and Arabella Advisors. The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/same-game-different-name-radioactive-arabella-advisors-announces-rebrand-to-sunflower-services-as-prominent-donors-flee/">reported</a> in November 2025 that Arabella had rebranded its fiscal sponsorship arm as Sunflower Services “amid a series of high-profile investigations into its finances and billionaire Bill Gates&#8217;s decision to end a longstanding partnership with the organization.”
The Treasury’s focus on fiscal sponsorships—where a 501(c)(3) acts as an &#8220;umbrella&#8221; for projects without their own tax-exempt status—directly addresses concerns raised by the House Oversight Committee. Last month, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said the Committee was “continuing to investigate reports the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Arabella Advisors (now operating as Sunflower Services), and others have worked to circumvent federal campaign finance disclosure requirements.”
Comer said his <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-continues-to-investigate-dark-money-groups-efforts-to-evade-campaign-finance-laws/#:~:text=Comer%20Continues%20to%20Investigate%20Dark,Release%20Published%3A%20Mar%2020%2C%202026">letter</a> was “part of the House Oversight Committee’s larger effort to investigate powerful, dark money groups skirting campaign finance disclosure laws enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) while obscuring the distinction between activities of legitimate journalists from campaign operatives. Online influencers invited to join the Chorus program reportedly receive up to $8,000 per month to amplify Democratic messaging online but must sign contracts enforcing strict secrecy and imposing limitations on the types of political content they can produce.”
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) filed a formal <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/NVF-IRS-Complaint.pdf">IRS complaint</a> in November 2025 alleging that the New Venture Fund (NVF), an Arabella-managed entity, engaged in improper &#8220;excess benefit transactions.&#8221; AAF wrote, “We have reason to believe that NVF has solicited hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from the public, a substantial portion of which have been diverted to NVF’s founder and other senior officers through an administrative services agreement with Arabella Advisors LLC (‘Arabella Advisors’), which was controlled by those same individuals. If so, NVF has engaged in improper excess benefit transactions by paying Arabella Advisors more than $200 million since 2006.”
The Treasury&#8217;s new reporting requirements aim to track where public money actually goes. NGO Monitor <a href="https://ngo-monitor.org/funder/tides-network/">reported</a> in March 2025, “Since 1976, Tides has ‘scaled more than 1400 social ventures, fueled social change in 120+ countries, and mobilized over $3 billion for impact.’ A number of these social ventures demonize Israel, promote antisemitic rhetoric, and lead BDS campaigns.”
“If an organization receives public funds,” said Acting IRS Chief Counsel Ken Kies, “it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes.”

Scott Bessent

Treasury Department Announces IRS Overhaul To Target ‘Shadow’ Leftist Nonprofit Networks

Dark Money

Department of the Treasury

Executive

Money In Politics

Politics

Tax-exempt organizations

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has officially launched “Operation Economic Fury,” a sweeping, aggressive campaign aimed at the total economic isolation of the Iranian regime.
Describing the measures as the &#8220;financial equivalent&#8221; of a military bombing campaign, Bessent signaled a return to a strict “maximum pressure” stance, targeting illicit oil networks, terror financiers, and global banks that continue to facilitate Tehran’s activities.
The announcement coincided with a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0443">massive enforcement action</a> by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which sanctioned more than two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels. At the center of the crackdown is the multi-billion dollar petroleum empire of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of the late senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani.
According to the Treasury, the Shamkhani network has enmeshed itself in the global shipping industry using a sophisticated web of front companies in the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, and India. These firms, including Oriel Group and House of Shipping, allegedly provided a “veneer of legitimacy” while managing a shadow fleet that generates billions of dollars for both the Iranian and Russian regimes.
“Treasury is moving aggressively with Economic Fury by targeting regime elites like the Shamkhani family that attempt to profit at the expense of the Iranian people,” Secretary Bessent stated.
The operation also took aim at a complex &#8220;oil-for-gold&#8221; scheme involving Lebanese Hizballah financier Seyed Naiemaei Badroddin Moosavi. In coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Treasury revealed that Moosavi facilitated the smuggling of Iranian oil to the former Venezuelan regime under Nicolás Maduro in exchange for gold. This gold was then allegedly moved via Mahan Air to Hizballah members in Tehran before being laundered through Turkey.
In a move that will likely tighten global energy markets, Bessent confirmed that the United States will not renew the general licenses that allowed for the purchase of Iranian and Russian oil. These waivers, which allowed &#8220;oil on the water&#8221; prior to March 11 to reach its destination, are set to expire on April 19, 2026.
Bessent dismissed the need for further relief, arguing that the temporary measures intended to stabilize prices during recent regional conflicts have served their purpose. &#8220;All that oil has been used,&#8221; Bessent told reporters, signaling that the administration is no longer willing to tolerate leaks in the sanctions regime.
Perhaps the most significant escalation of Operation Economic Fury is the administration&#8217;s willingness to deploy secondary sanctions. These measures target third-party entities — such as foreign banks — that do business with sanctioned Iranian actors, effectively forcing them to choose between the Iranian market and access to the U.S. financial system.
Bessent revealed that the Treasury has already issued formal warnings to two major Chinese banks. Historically, China has purchased upwards of 90% of Iran’s exported oil.
&#8220;If we can prove that there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgDR6obU-CI">warned</a>. He noted that the U.S. is seeking deeper cooperation from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbors to freeze the assets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other leadership figures.
Addressing concerns from the shipping industry regarding the volatile Strait of Hormuz, Bessent discussed a potential U.S. government reinsurance program. Highlighting that insurance rates from Lloyd&#8217;s of London remain &#8220;skyrocketing,&#8221; he suggested the U.S. could provide a &#8220;normalized level&#8221; of insurance to encourage commercial traffic once the lanes are declared safe.
&#8220;Exactly,&#8221; Bessent replied when asked if this was an expansion of the war through economic rather than kinetic means. With over 1,000 entities sanctioned since the start of the current campaign, Operation Economic Fury marks the administration’s most decisive effort yet to bankrupt the Iranian state&#8217;s military and proxy capabilities.

White House daily press briefing

‘Operation Economic Fury’ Moves Against America’s Enemy Without A Single Shot

Global Politics

Iran

World

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Thursday against four international nonprofit organizations identified as &#8220;sham charities&#8221; used to bankroll Hamas’s military wing.
The <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0415">action</a> targets three organizations based in Turkey — Ghazi Destek Dernegi (GDD), Hayat Yolu, and Palestinian White Hands — as well as the Indonesia-based Komite Nasional Untuk Rakyat Palestina (KNRP). Treasury officials allege these groups pose as humanitarian entities while covertly siphoning donations to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas&#8217;s military apparatus.
According to Treasury investigators, these organizations leverage global networks to generate revenue for terrorist operations. Internal Hamas documents seized by authorities reportedly show that GDD collaborated with previously sanctioned entities to fund construction projects benefiting the group. Similarly, Palestinian White Hands was found to be integrated into the Hamas military security apparatus.
In Indonesia, KNRP is accused of coordinating directly with Hamas to distribute materials intended exclusively for fighters. Treasury also identified Hayat Yolu as an operational and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims.”
Today’s designations build on a series of recent actions aimed at dismantling Hamas’s financial infrastructure. Previous rounds of sanctions occurred on <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0368">January 21, 2026</a>, and <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0162">June 10, 2025</a>. Officials noted that Hamas frequently preys on the sympathies of international donors, redirecting funds intended for Palestinian civilians to prolong the regional conflict.
Hamas has been designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2001. Today’s enforcement was conducted under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing them with material support.
As a result of these sanctions, all property and interests belonging to these entities within the U.S. or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. Americans are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the designated groups. Foreign financial institutions that facilitate significant transactions for these groups risk losing access to the U.S. financial system.

Trump Admin Shuts Down Sham Charities Caught Bankrolling Hamas

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Four Sham Charities Linked to Hamas Financing

Hamas

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took decisive action on Thursday against individuals channeling tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group that dominates Lebanon and threatens Israel.
The sanctions, issued under Executive Order 13224, targeted Hezbollah operatives such as Ossama Jaber, Ja’far Muhammad Qasir, and Samer Kasbar — key players in the terrorist organization’s sprawling financial network. Using Lebanon’s cash-based economy and unscreened exchange houses, they laundered more than a billion dollars since January 2025, funding terror operations, weapons smuggling, and Hezbollah’s entrenched control over Lebanese politics.
The Trump administration framed these sanctions as part of a clear policy: choking off Hezbollah’s financial oxygen to isolate Iran and protect American allies. Treasury Under Secretary John Hurley declared that Lebanon could only achieve freedom and stability by severing its ties to Tehran’s terror machine, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0308">saying,</a> “Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure—but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control. We will work with our Lebanese partners to create a resilient economy that puts the interests of all Lebanese citizens front and center.” This action followed a consistent Trump doctrine — one that identifies Hezbollah as an Iranian tentacle and treats its dismantlement as central to peace in the region.
This focus on direct enforcement and partnership contrasts starkly with the Biden-Harris administration’s record of strategic leaks and policy hesitation that undermined Israel’s sovereignty and security. During Biden’s tenure, Washington repeatedly betrayed Jerusalem’s trust by divulging sensitive Israeli operations to the press. In September 2024, as Israel prepared a limited ground invasion of Lebanon to neutralize Hezbollah along its northern border, Biden officials <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-said-to-inform-us-of-plans-for-imminent-limited-ground-op-in-lebanon/">leaked the plans</a> to The Washington Post, handing Hezbollah critical information and prompting public backlash. That act mirrored earlier episodes — such as exposing Israeli strikes on Iranian interests in 2021 and revealing covert cooperation with allies during the Obama-Biden years — each leak serving to cripple Israeli initiatives while shielding Iran from reprisals.
For years, Democratic administrations under Biden and Obama displayed the same pattern: rhetorical support for Israel paired with behind-the-scenes meddling. The Biden team joined United Nations efforts to shield UNRWA employees who aided Hamas, delayed the congressional notification of weapons transfers to Israel, and warned the Israel Defense Forces not to take Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.
These actions echoed Barack Obama’s tenure, when U.S. <a href="https://www.frontpagemag.com/obamas-leaks-sabotaging-israels-defense-joseph-klein/">leaks</a> sabotaged Israel’s counter-Iran strategy.
By sanctioning Hezbollah’s financiers and tightening the noose on Iran’s proxies, the Trump administration demonstrates that America’s words are backed by action, not whispers to the press. While the Biden-Harris team played politics with leaks that endangered an ally, Trump draws a bright line: the enemies of Israel and the enemies of freedom are one and the same — and both will be confronted without apology.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Trump Admin Cracks Down On Hezbollah’s Money Men

Hezbollah

Lebanon

Terrorism

The United States placed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies on Wednesday after plans for an expected meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin fell through.
The sanctions, the first the Trump administration has leveled against Russia since taking over the White House in January, are a signal that the president has run short on patience with Moscow. Trump has called for the battle lines to be frozen in Ukraine and for the two sides to meet for peace talks.
The sanctions target Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil and dozens of their subsidiaries, but will likely have little direct impact on the money that flows into Russia’s treasury from its substantial energy industry. While the United States did billions of dollars worth of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/europe/us-europe-trade-business-with-russia-intl">trade</a> with Russia last year, the majority of that was for fertilizer, precious metals, uranium, and plutonium.
The sanctions package is a signal to other countries purchasing Russian oil and natural gas that the Trump administration may soon crack down on buyers, as well.
“[E]ngaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions,” the <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0290">announcement</a> from the Treasury Department states. “[The Treasury] can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority.”
China remains one of Moscow&#8217;s largest buyers for energy, though India, another major purchaser of Russian oil, has already promised to cut back its reliance on Russian energy.
The European Union <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-approves-19th-package-russian-sanctions-including-lng-ban-2025-10-22/">joined</a> the United States with a sanctions package targeting Russian energy, as well, including Rosneft. The E.U. sanctions package may bring more direct pain to Moscow’s coffers because of the increased reliance of Europe on Russian oil and natural gas exports.
“Appreciated this evening’s call with [Bessent] and the Treasury decision to sanction major Russian oil companies in the face of Russia’s lack of commitment to the peace process,” said E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a <a href="https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1981109768581243195">post</a> on X. “With the imminent adoption of the EU’s 19th package, this is a clear signal from both sides of the Atlantic that we will keep up collective pressure on the aggressor.”
The United Kingdom approved a similar sanctions package on Russian energy last week in what has become a wave of financial penalties targeting Russia’s most important export industry.

Donald Trump

Trump’s Sanctioning Russian Energy. Here’s What To Know.

What To Know About Trump’s Sanctions Package On Russian Energy

Russia

Sanctions

United States

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration mobilized the federal government through the Treasury Department to get out the vote in the 2022 midterms, documents shared with The Daily Wire show, with particular focus on low-income or non-English speaking voters.
The news raises questions about the federal government&#8217;s role in elections, a senior White House official told The Daily Wire, arguing that using the Treasury Department to get out the vote is &#8220;certainly outside the scope of &#8221; its defined purpose.
&#8220;The federal government has a very carefully defined role in the nation&#8217;s elections,&#8221; that official shared, noting that Congress enacted the &#8220;Help America Vote Act&#8221; and the &#8220;National Voter Registration Act&#8221; to modernize election systems and increase voter registration. 
&#8220;But under President Biden&#8217;s leadership, we saw every single aspect of the federal government sort of turned into a massive voter mobilization, voter registration campaign, even for those departments and agencies that are not historically or by statute even involved in the election process,&#8221; the official shared. &#8220;And so that&#8217;s what happened with the IRS and the Treasury Department.&#8221; 
President Biden issued an executive order in March 2021 on &#8220;Promoting Access to Voting&#8221; requiring government agencies to encourage voter registration and voter participation by educating the public on how to cast a ballot, the electoral process, and how to vote by mail.
Under that executive order, the IRS&#8217;s Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) requirement includes encouraging SPEC Partners to provide information to specific demographics of taxpayers at local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites, according to White House documents viewed by The Daily Wire.
VITA is a program designed to assist low to moderate-income taxpayers, but a key component focuses on non-English speakers. TCE applies to the elderly.
What information was shared with these specific demographics at local sites? How and where to register to vote, how and where to vote, how to engage in other non-partisan efforts that promote voter participation, and more, according to a White House document on &#8220;Guidance for Promoting Voter Registration at VITA/TCE Sites for SPEC Partners&#8221; obtained by The Daily Wire.
The official who spoke with The Daily Wire highlighted that this focus on specific demographics is particularly problematic —  and that the Biden administration plan was using the federal government to do something that was &#8220;fundamentally a responsibility to states.&#8221; 
&#8220;It&#8217;s something that the US Constitution hands to the states as their sacred obligation,&#8221; the official explained. &#8220;What the IRS did was to interpret that order to apply, not even to every taxpayer, but only to those taxpayers that were primarily served by certain tax preparers and certain tax agents that they deemed more likely to be associated with politically favored demographics, those that were working with Americans from early on in urban areas and so forth.&#8221;
The Treasury Department also specifically indicated to its employees that they should use internal communications channels to encourage employees to vote and to register to vote. On November 21, 2021, the Treasury&#8217;s Acting Chief Human Capital Officer told bureau Human Resources officers that &#8220;no later than 60 days prior&#8221; to national general elections, Treasury bureaus should use their internal channels to remind employees of their right to vote as well as encourage voter registration and voter participation.
They were directed to send the following email:
<blockquote>Dear staff,
Federal elections are foundational to the American system of government. Every two years in November we come together to elect our leaders and congressional representatives. This year federal election day is Tuesday, November 8, however in many jurisdictions early voting and absentee voting are allowed and may begin as much as 46 days in advance of the official election day.
I encourage you to visit www.vote.gov to learn about voting in your state. This site will help you learn how to register or check your registration status. It also provides important deadlines and associated dates.
I also want to share recent changes from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) related to leave for voting. On March 24, OPM issued updated guidance that directs agencies to provide federal employees up to four hours of administrative leave to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections. The updated guidance also authorizes federal employees up to four hours of administrative leave per year to serve as non-partisan poll workers or observers.
I thank you for your service, and encourage you to exercise your right to vote.</blockquote>
The current White House maintains that under President Donald Trump&#8217;s leadership, the federal government is no longer serving as &#8220;a massive partisan leading voter registration campaign.&#8221; And the release of documents and information about what went on during President Biden&#8217;s administration is a fulfillment of the executive orders that Trump signed in February and March.
&#8220;The roles and functions of the IRS and the Treasury Department are returning to what taxpayers pay them to do, which is manage the nation&#8217;s finances and manage the enforcement of our tax law,&#8221; the White House official explained to The Daily Wire, &#8220;Not once has an American taxpayer paid for the IRS to be a voter registration portal or a voter registration entity, and unfortunately the Biden administration thought that they could force the federal government to do that.&#8221;

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Attempted Assassination Of Former President Trump

EXCLUSIVE: How The Biden Admin Used The Treasury Dept To Get Out The Vote

2024 Election

Elections

Joe Biden

The Trump administration is drawing attention to an often overlooked data point that suggests Trump’s policies, and the passage of the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; have laid the foundation for an economic boom.
Treasury Department counselor Joe Lavorgna says that Federal Reserve data tracking the production of business equipment shows positive signs for future economic growth. Those signs come as President Donald Trump appears to be growing in popularity among business owners.
Economists view the figure that Lavorgna points to as a proxy for capital expenditure (CapEx), which encompasses most investments made by businesses in hard assets that are expected to increase production later on. Those investments could be new buildings or updated equipment, such as better computer software.
“What we observed in the first quarter is that equipment production rose at a 23% rate. Now, surprisingly, when we got the GDP data, we saw a 24% increase. Really, really strong, really exciting news,” Lavorgna told The Daily Wire.
Lavorgna contributed the surge in equipment production to the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; that passed Congress and was signed into law on July 4, though it authorized companies to expense business investments retroactively back to Inauguration Day.
“So, companies – getting very excited about the pro-growth policies that President Trump was putting forward – took that initiative in the first quarter, [and] increased production of business equipment,” the Trump administration economist said.
“Importantly though, in Q2 we saw another large gain in business equipment production, up almost 11%. That is a really strong increase following a boom in the first quarter,” he continued. “What that means is before the One Big Beautiful Bill became legislation, we had an almost 17% annualized increase over those two quarters of business equipment production.”
“That is remarkable,” said Lavorgna.
In the first half of 2025, CapEx surged 16.6%, according to Treasury Department data. That leap constitutes the largest two-quarter rally in CaPex, excluding the pandemic years, since 1997.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill jumpstarted investment that’s lifting productivity, wages, and living standards. Blue collar paychecks are rising fast — second only to @realDonaldTrump’s first term — and the best is yet to come,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted in a post on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>’s pro-growth, America First agenda, we’re seeing a CapEx Comeback. Business equipment production jumped 11% annualized in Q2 after a huge 23% gain in Q1 — the strongest back-to-back growth since 1997.
CapEx is up 16.6% in the first half of 2025, signaling a… <a href="https://t.co/CcYf7QR9ov">pic.twitter.com/CcYf7QR9ov</a>
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/1947627779354193949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
Recent polling numbers suggest that business owners are rallying behind Trump’s handling of the economy after showing pessimistic attitudes earlier this year. On Tuesday, the latest results from the quarterly CNBC-SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey results <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/22/main-street-business-confidence-rises-trump-tariffs-economy.html">showed</a> 46% of small business owners rate the U.S. economy as “excellent” or “good” – a leap of 16 percentage points since the Q2 survey results showed that number at 30%.

CapEx Comeback: This Often Overlooked Data Point Suggests U.S. Economy Is Primed To Boom

Economy

Trump Administration

The Trump administration identified three Mexican financial institutions that it says are complicit in laundering funds on behalf of criminal cartels that traffic fentanyl into the United States.
Two banks and one brokerage firm, which collectively manage $22 billion in assets, were identified by the Treasury Department on Wednesday as key players in the cartels’ fentanyl trafficking operations. The federal agency specifically accused the three institutions of laundering millions of dollars on behalf of the cartels and facilitating payments for the precursor chemicals for fentanyl, and now prohibits American financial institutions from carrying out certain transactions to and from the three Mexican institutions.
“Financial facilitators like CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0179">charged</a>.
“Through the first use of this powerful authority, today’s actions affirm Treasury’s commitment to using all tools at our disposal to counter the threat posed by criminal and terrorist organizations trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics.”
The Treasury Department specifically explained that a CIBanco employee authorized the creation of an account by a Gulf Cartel member who purportedly intended to launder $10 million. The executive agency also warned that the bank has a “long-standing pattern of associations, transactions, and provision of financial services” with the Gulf Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and the Beltran-Leyva Cartel.
Intercam executives are believed to have met with CJNG members to discuss money laundering schemes, which included processing transactions to and from China. Mexican companies also used Intercam to send more than a million dollars to a Chinese company with ties to an individual who shipped fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico.
Vector is similarly believed to assist in the procurement of those precursor chemicals on behalf of both the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels. The federal agency asserts that a money launderer working on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel moved $2 million through Vector from 2013 to 2021.
The move marks another step in the Treasury’s campaign to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-treasury-official-reveals-how-the-trump-admin-is-choking-off-cartels-cash-flow?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Treasury+Official+Lays+Out+How+Trump+Is+Choking+Off+Cash+Flow+To+Cartels">choke off funds</a> from the criminal cartels. The agency has unveiled numerous sanctions against leaders and personnel from the Sinaloa Cartel, Tren de Aragua, and Cartel del Noreste.
“If the money is not flowing back south, then there’s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender told The Daily Wire.

Fentanyl

Trump Admin Sets Sights On Mexican Banks Laundering Fentanyl Cash For Cartels

Border

cartel

drug cartel

Mexico

Treasury

The Trump administration’s Department of the Treasury on Wednesday announced sanctions on leaders of a ruthless Mexican drug cartel in a move that the federal agency says will hinder the organization’s drug trafficking operations.
The sanctions targeted five key figures of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a vicious criminal enterprise that produces illicit drugs and traffics them into the United States.
“CJNG’s reign of terror across Mexico and its trafficking of fentanyl into the United States has destroyed countless innocent lives,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0169">said</a>. “The United States remains strongly committed to leveraging all available tools to degrade the capacity of CJNG and other cartels to flood our streets with dangerous drugs and perpetrate heinous acts of violence against civilians.”
Any property held by the five cartel members in the United States will now be frozen and reported to the federal government.
The Treasury Department described the organization as “a brutally violent cartel responsible for a significant share of fentanyl and other illicit drugs entering the United States,” adding, “It uses murder as a tactic to intimidate rivals, including sending messages to other cartels through the targeted killings of women.”
CJNG’s founder and leader, Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was among the five men targeted.
“Under Oseguera’s direction, CJNG operatives have assassinated rivals, Mexican law enforcement, judges, and other government officials,” the Treasury Department noted, also pointing out that Oseguera’s leadership allowed the cartel to “function like a franchise business across several Mexican states,” allowing the criminal enterprise to spread across the country and rake in billions of dollars from the drug trade.
The Treasury also sanctioned Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, who it identified as a senior CJNG member and the son-in-law of Oseguera. Castillo, believed to be a possible successor to Oseguera, operates a port in southwestern Mexico that the cartel uses to import fentanyl precursors.
Another target, Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan, is known to recruit new CJNG members and train them at Izaguirre Ranch, a facility in the Mexican state of Jalisco, according to the Trump administration. Mendoza “directed lieutenants to train new CJNG recruits and kill those who defied instructions” and “has also been involved in the murder of numerous law enforcement officers,” the Treasury Department said.
The Treasury hit two more CJNG operatives, Audias Flores Silva and Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, with sanctions. Flores is a regional CJNG commander over several Mexican states and oversees laboratories that produce methamphetamine, while Ruiz runs the CJNG’s propaganda wing. Ruiz is also believed to have killed his girlfriend during a live social media broadcast.
The flurry of sanctions comes after the Treasury Department previously unveiled similar sanctions against members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel">Sinaloa Cartel</a> and <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0146">Cartel de Noreste</a>. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender told The Daily Wire in an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-treasury-official-reveals-how-the-trump-admin-is-choking-off-cartels-cash-flow?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=28&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Treasury+Official+Lays+Out+How+Trump+Is+Choking+Off+Cash+Flow+To+Cartels">exclusive interview</a> that the sanctions are a key tool in the Trump administration’s fight against the Mexican drug cartels.
“If the money is not flowing back south, then there’s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north,” he explained.

CJNG Graffiti

Treasury Dept Sanctions Five Key Leaders Of Mexican Drug Cartel

Crime

Drug Cartels

Treasury Department

The Trump administration on Monday placed new sanctions on a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel responsible for fentanyl production and trafficking.
The Treasury Department also <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0161">announced</a> sanctions on two sons of the notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera. Guzman’s sons, Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, are “fugitive leaders” of the Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that runs fentanyl factories and trafficking routes into the United States.
“Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyperviolent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking into the United States,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump’s mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like ‘El Chapo’s’ children. Treasury is maximizing all available tools to stop the fentanyl crisis and help save lives.”
Los Chapitos has been identified as a top manufacturer of fentanyl pills through its many factories. Many of those pills are trafficked into the United States, fueling the U.S. drug trade and contributing to the tens of thousands of fentanyl overdose deaths in the United States every year.
The Sinaloa faction has also been linked to torture, extortion, and kidnapping, among other violent acts, and the turf wars it has fought against other drug cartels are believed to have taken hundreds of lives. The Sinaloa Cartel has also been linked to the 2024 killing of U.S. Marine Nicholas Quets in Sonora, Mexico.
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“The designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) was a vital first step in honoring Nicholas’ memory and protecting other Americans from suffering similar tragedies. It sends a clear message: Those who target U.S. citizens — no matter where they are — will face the full force of American resolve,” Quets&#8217; father, Doug Quets, said in a statement.
The Department of State has placed a $10 million bounty on each of the &#8220;fugitive leaders” of Los Chapitos. The drug kingpin’s other two sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, are in U.S. custody along with their father.
Ovidio was arrested in Mexico in 2023, extradited to the United States, and is facing charges in Chicago on money laundering, drug, and gun offenses. Federal authorities arrested Joaquin last year in Texas where he is being held on charges related to money laundering, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
“El Chapo” has been found guilty on dozens of charges in the United States and is serving out a life sentence at a supermax facility in Colorado. The drug lord previously escaped two high-security prisons in Mexico before he was taken into custody by U.S. authorities.

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera

Trump Admin Sanctions Sons Of ‘El Chapo,’ Leaders Of Sinaloa Cartel’s Fentanyl Factories

Sinaloa Cartel

The Trump administration has tapped the Treasury Department to track down and halt the flow of money to foreign drug cartels.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender says the federal agency is choking off the cash flow that powers cartels’ human and drug smuggling operations by designating them as terrorists, he explained to The Daily Wire.
“One of the most important things that the president did upon coming into office was to declare a number of the narco groups terrorist organizations,&#8221; Faulkender told The Daily Wire. &#8220;What that does is it unleashes additional authorities at Treasury for us to better target some of the financial activities that these cartels are engaging in.&#8221;
Faulkender told The Daily Wire that the agency’s moves are cutting into the cartels’ flow of money, disincentivizing their human smuggling and drug-running operations.
“It&#8217;s one thing to have our partners at [the Department of Homeland Security] work on stopping the flow of people and drugs, but we can also use our financial tools to go after the money,” the Treasury official explained. “If the money is not flowing back south, then there&#8217;s less of an incentive to bring the drugs and the guns and some of the illicit activity up to the north.”
“Since the president took office, we&#8217;ve engaged in five different actions going after nine different entities for a total of 16 individuals,” he noted.
The Treasury Department unveiled sanctions on “two high-ranking members of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste,” a foreign terrorist organization formerly known as Los Zetas.
Cartel del Noreste “and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent charged. “We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities.”
That move follows the Treasury Department&#8217;s March announcement that it was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-treasury-dept-launches-sanctions-targeting-sinaloa-cartel">imposing sanctions</a> on six individuals and seven organizations believed to be laundering money for the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most notorious criminal organizations and a federally-designated foreign terror organization.
“We leveled sanctions against six individuals and seven entities involved in a money laundering operation, cutting off financing for these evil people,” Bessent said at the time. “Laundered drug money is the lifeblood of the Sinaloa Cartel’s narco-terrorist enterprise, only made possible through trusted financial facilitators like those we have designated today.”
Treasury also hit Brink’s Global Services, which specializes in transporting funds and other valuables for banks and other clients, with a <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-announces-37000000-civil-money-penalty-against-brinks-global-services-usa">$37 million civil penalty</a>, alleging that the company moved money across the southern border without following anti-money laundering regulations. The company’s violations, the Treasury Department says, exposed “the U.S. financial system to a heightened risk of money laundering, including from narcotics trafficking and other illicit activity.”
Faulkender says the Trump administration isn’t just launching a whole-of-government approach to combat the cartels’ drug and human smuggling, but is also pushing the Mexican government to track and penalize the flow of cartel money.
“The president imposed tariffs on the Mexican government and on products that are coming in from Mexico to elicit participation and cooperation from the Mexican government, and so we are seeing the Mexican government willing to work with us to go after these financial networks that are enriching the cartels,” he told The Daily Wire, adding that the government is “monitoring the money flows, tracking it down, either putting a complete stop to it and, and seizing that money, or at the very least, making it a lot more expensive for them to move that money around and try to deter them from engaging in these kinds of actions.”

Bank notes part of a seizure of more tha

EXCLUSIVE: Treasury Official Lays Out How Trump Is Choking Off Cash Flow To Cartels

Immigration

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may access sensitive systems in the Department of Treasury after a weeks-long battle.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas said that one member of the DOGE team may access sensitive payment and data systems at Treasury as long as that member undergoes training. The member, Ryan Wunderly, would also need to submit a financial disclosure.
Vargas’ Friday <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609.139.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a> came nearly two months after she blocked DOGE from the systems amid a legal challenge from blue state attorneys general.
“The Court hereby modifies the PI Order to permit Defendants to grant Ryan Wunderly access to Treasury Department payment records, payment systems, and any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees, PROVIDED THAT (i) Wunderly first completes any hands-on training in such systems that is typically required of other Treasury employees granted commensurate access; and (ii) that Wunderly first submits his OGE 278 Financial Disclosure Report,” Vargas wrote.
In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 18 other Democratic attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s access across the federal government. DOGE is spearheading President Donald Trump’s push to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the government and better direct federal funds toward his agenda.
“Giving the world’s richest man unauthorized access to our nation’s central payment system, and our most sensitive personal information, puts all Americans – and the essential funds they depend on – at risk,” James <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-stops-elon-musk-and-doge-accessing-americans-private">said</a> in February. “With this illegal power grab, Musk and DOGE are trying to wipe out vital programs and services – from health care to public safety to education – that our communities need.”
James’ lawsuit argued that only trained career civil servants should have access to the Treasury systems, closely guarded because of the amount of sensitive and personal information of Americans stored in them.
The Trump administration had argued at the time that only two DOGE team members had been granted access to the Treasury systems, and that they had each received some training.
The ruling comes as DOGE continues its reviews of payments and systems across the federal government. DOGE <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doge-review-finds-three-dem-states-account-for-most-unemployment-fraud-since-2020">announced</a> on Thursday that an initial review of unemployment claims found $382 million in suspect payments. Nearly 80% of those payments came from three deep-blue states: California, New York, and Massachusetts.
“California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits,” said DOGE. “Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal records.”

Letitia James

Judge Greenlights DOGE Access To Treasury Despite Complaints From Blue State AGs

Courts

DOGE

New York

U.S.

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