US and Mexico sanction Hysa group for allegedly running Sinaloa Cartel-linked casino operations
The Hysa Organized Crime Group (HOCG), also known as the Albanian Mafia, has been accused of operating casinos on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The news comes from a joint action with the United States Treasury and the Government of Mexico. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have been working with their North American counterparts to investigate HOCG’s actions.
Today, Treasury issued sanctions and has taken steps to cut off numerous Mexico-based gambling establishments involved in cartel-related money laundering.
We will continue to target those involved in supporting terrorist drug cartels.
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) November 13, 2025
Sinaloa Cartel is reliant on HOCG
The Department of the Treasury posted a release regarding a recent diplomatic engagement by Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
Hurley was commissioned to work with Mexican intelligence agencies to reduce the impact that the cartel had across the globe, which perpetrated money laundering, drug trafficking, and other nefarious activities.
Luftar, Arben, Ramiz, Fatos, and Fabjon Hysa have all been sanctioned as part of a twenty-seven-person action and mass asset seizure by OFAC.
The Treasury statement reads that this action intends to “sever 10 Mexico-based gambling establishments’ access to the U.S. financial system due to money laundering.”
Casino locations under NPRM
FinCEN has also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to ten casino locations in Mexico under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
The NPRM seeks to detach these entities from the US financial system, as investigations have shown that the Sinaloa Cartel relies heavily on them to launder money.
The special measure will prohibit these institutions from “opening or maintaining a correspondent account for any foreign banking institution if such account is used to process transactions involving any of the gambling establishments,” said the report.
The second section of the special measure will also require any of these locations or related institutions to apply for special due diligence to “their correspondent accounts that are reasonably designed to guard against the use of such accounts to process transactions involving any of the gambling establishments.”
The entertainment venues under the NPRM are Sonoran locations, including Emine Casino, Casino Mirage, and Midas Casino, as well as locations in Agua Prieta, Los Mochis, Guamuchil, Mazatlán, and Rosarito, Baja California.
Palermo Casino, Skampa Casino Ensenada, Baja California, and Skampa Casino Villahermosa, Tabasco, are also included in the NPRM.
“The United States and Mexico are working together to combat money laundering in Mexico’s gambling sector. Our message to those supporting the cartels is clear: You will be held accountable,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
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