Treasury Sanctions Rosenthal Money Laundering Organization

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation of three Honduran businessmen and seven businesses as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking. Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva; along with his son, Yani Benjamin Rosenthal Hidalgo; and his nephew, Yankel Antonio Rosenthal Coello, provide money laundering and other services that support the international narcotics trafficking activities of multiple Central American drug traffickers and their criminal organizations. As a result of OFAC’s action, all assets of these individuals and entities that are under the jurisdiction of the United States or in the control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

In coordination with today’s announcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) also took action to target the Rosenthal family. Yesterday, an indictment charging Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva, Yani Benjamin Rosenthal Hidalgo, and Yankel Antonio Rosenthal Coello, along with a fourth individual, with money laundering in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956, was unsealed in SDNY, and Yankel Antonio Rosenthal Coello was arrested in the United States.

“This action targets the three Rosenthal family members and their properties for their money laundering and drug trafficking activities,” said Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “This step underscores that the U.S. government is fully committed to protecting the U.S. financial system from criminals like the Rosenthals. We are fully committed to working with the Honduran authorities to take the necessary steps to protect the Honduran financial system from abuse by drug traffickers and other illicit actors, in order to further safeguard Honduran financial institutions.”