The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated eight individuals and 20 entities connected to Jorge Fadlallah Cheaitelly as specially designated narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). The individuals designated today act on behalf of, or provide support to Fadlallah Cheaitelly, the leader of a Panama-based drug trafficking and money laundering organization that stretches across the globe, who was arrested in Costa Rica in 2011 for his significant role in international money laundering activities and extradited to the United States in 2012. As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons in which these individuals and entities have an interest are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
Key associates in the Fadlallah Cheaitelly organization include Panamanian attorney Jorge Plata McNulty, his father Ignacio Plata Rivera, and several Panamanian associates who facilitate the laundering of narcotics proceeds through Panamanian shell companies. Plata McNulty serves as a resident agent and has established shell companies for Cheaitelly and his associates for many years as part of a money laundering scheme.
Treasury press release link: click here