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Outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderon has signed into law a ban on large cash transactions. The banwill take effect in about 90 days and it is part of a broader effort to control monetary flows within the country.

Under the law, a Specialized Unit in Financial Analysis operating within the Attorney General’s Office will be created to investigate financial operations “that are related to resources of unknown origin.”

For real estate transactions, cash payments of more than a half million pesos ($38,750) will be forbidden and, for automobiles or items like jewelry, art, and lottery tickets, cash payments of more than 200,000 pesos ($15,500) will be forbidden. The law carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison

Argentina Begins Tracking All Credit CardsJon MatonisContributor

In 2010, Mexico instituted strict limits on foreign exchange cash transactions to $1,500 per person per month, which caused several cash dollar exchanges to withdraw from the business and had the effect of penalizing tourists.

Of course, US dollars are a huge portion of the actual paper cash that this effort is aimed at, but theMexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world and by far the most traded currency in Latin America.

Reuters reported that, “Sales of drugs from marijuana to cocaine and methamphetamine in the United States are worth about $60 billion annually, according to the United Nations. About half of that amount is estimated to find its way back to cartels in Mexico.”

The Woodrow Wilson International Center For Scholars’ Mexico Institute published a comprehensive study in May 2012 entitled “It’s All about the Money.” The report recommended tight integration and coordination with the United States in the areas of legal framework, financial institution regulation, intelligence on cross-border currency flows, and non-conviction based asset forfeiture.

Two years in the making, the new law also requires notaries, real estate brokers, and other dealers to report the forms of payment for transactions above the respective limits. Financial institutions will also be required to report monthly credit card balances in excess of 50,000 pesos ($3,875).

Although it’s part of a global trend among governments, Mexico will still have a long way to go to catch up. Spain recently banned cash transactions above 2,500 euros and Italy ba

Comments

• Richard Price 16 hours ago

  It looks like they are mirroring the laws here in the U.S. The next step is for the government to seize savings or any amounts held in banks, on your person,in your home. Anything over that amount will be called illegal drug proceeds. Everyones life savings are the target. Already in some places here in this country a person can’t Carry over fifty dollars without being subject to search and forfeiture of their pocket change. In some states like Tennessee and Florida ,among others,the law enforcement set up road blocks along the interstate to search for everyones cash. The law has become a rock for villains and traitors to hide under.

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• Louis Nardozi 6 hours ago

  Heh. No matter how they imply interdiction, this is about TAXES. They’re tired of the drug money escaping taxation. If it had anything at all to do with crime, they’d simply legalize sale to foreigners and eliminate all the crime at a stroke.

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• Davinci Jeremie 6 hours ago

  Bitcoin will help people save up and leave oppressive regiems, like this one.

nned cash transactions above 1,000 euros.