BTC
ETH
SOL
XRP
BNB
TON
DOT
LTC
POL
HBAR
NEAR
ARB
UNIColombian broker Leonardo Zuluaga Duque gets 160 months in USDT laundering case
A US court sentenced the Colombian crypto broker to more than 13 years for laundering about $14.5m in drug proceeds through Tether's USDT and for a cocaine importation conspiracy.
Why it matters: The case shows how stablecoin transfers were paired with shell companies and banks to move drug money, a pattern US prosecutors are pursuing across borders.
Key points
- Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, 63, was sentenced to 160 months and ordered to forfeit $14,751,846.
- Prosecutors traced about $14.5m in USDT moved between May and November 2023 through US shell companies and Colombian businesses.
- Five co-defendants were sentenced to between three and eight years, including Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, who got eight years.
A Colombian crypto broker has been sentenced in the United States over a USDT laundering network that moved drug money across borders. Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, 63, received 160 months in federal prison, federal prosecutors announced on 21 Oct 2026, for laundering about $14.5m and for conspiring to import cocaine into the US.
Prosecutors said the USDT laundering network ran between May and November 2023. Drug proceeds were turned into Tether's stablecoin in Colombia, sent to an American intermediary and exchanged for dollars. The money then passed through US shell companies to Colombian businesses, where it was converted into pesos. The judge ordered Zuluaga Duque to forfeit $14,751,846 and crypto linked to four addresses he controlled, plus five years of supervised release.
At the centre of the US side was Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, an Argentine citizen who claimed ties to the Cartier jewellery family. Cartier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years.
Investigators also linked Zuluaga Duque to cocaine deals. In November 2023 sources working with law enforcement set up a transaction involving about nine kilograms of cocaine paste intended for New York, and a later prospective purchase of about 100 kilograms led Colombian police to recover roughly 111 kilograms. He was arrested in Medellín on 30 April 2024 with Interpol's help. US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the defendants used crypto, shell companies and banking channels together.
Live updates on NewsFeeds:StablecoinsDesk editor: Keshav Aggarwal (accountable for this page; this summary was not edited by hand)
How this was produced: an AI model wrote this summary of Bitcoin.com News’s report, which we credit and link above. Read our Editorial and AI policy. Spotted a mistake? See Corrections.
Not investment advice. Read the risk disclaimer.