Mexico set to impose limits on dollar deposits

Tue May 25, 9:36 PM

By Mark Stevenson, The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government said Tuesday it will put limits on dollar cash deposits next week in a bid to combat money laundering.

Without revealing details, Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero said the new regulations are being imposed because some Mexican banks have reported an upsurge in dollar cash deposits.

Some banks in Mexico City already began refusing to accept cash deposits or exchange more than $400 in dollars for pesos at one time, in what officials say has been a largely voluntary effort so far.

Authorities estimate drug cartels may launder about $10 billion through Mexico each year.

Cordero said purchases of dollars with pesos will not be affected by the new rules. He said some deposits will still be possible, but authorities are looking to limit or better supervise deposits of large amounts.

"The only thing this measure is trying to do is limit the entrance of large amounts of illegally gained dollars that enter our economy through the very long and porous border we have," Cordero said. "It is a measure aimed at protecting our banking system, to make it harder to launder money in Mexico."

"This is a measure that will not affect the majority of citizens," he said.

Officials have said most legitimate dollar transactions at banks in Mexico are already electronic, so the vast majority of fund transfers would not be affected.

But banking and regulatory officials say some banks have seen people showing up with large amounts of cash at bank branches and currency exchange houses as well as people with little apparent source of income making regular mid-size deposits in cash.

In a related development last week, Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez-Mont said the government is weighing proposals for making it harder to conduct large cash transactions in buying real estate, autos and other expensive goods.

The task may be a difficult one. According to some estimates, more than one-quarter of Mexicans work in informal — but legal — jobs and are paid under-the-table in cash; many have no bank account.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/1005 ... laundering