A Colombian cryptocurrency broker known as “Rey” has been sentenced in the United States to 160 months in federal prison after prosecutors tied him to a USDT-based money laundering network and a cocaine importation conspiracy. The defendant, Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, 63, was found to have helped launder about $14.5 million in drug proceeds.
The case linked Colombian traffickers, an unlicensed U.S. crypto business, shell companies and bank accounts used to move funds across borders. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Zuluaga Duque to forfeit $14,751,846 and cryptocurrency tied to four addresses under his control.
How prosecutors said the laundering chain worked
According to prosecutors, the laundering activity took place between May and November 2023. Drug proceeds generated in Colombia were converted into Tether’s USDT, then sent to an intermediary in the United States and exchanged for dollars.
Those dollars were then routed through U.S. shell companies before being sent back to Colombian businesses. Once there, the funds were converted into pesos and distributed, creating a cross-border chain that combined crypto transfers with conventional banking channels and corporate entities.
The wider U.S. operation
At the center of the American side of the network was Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, an Argentine citizen who said he had ties to the Cartier jewelry family. Prosecutors said he ran an unlicensed cryptocurrency money-transmitting business through companies that were presented to banks as legitimate technology firms.
Authorities said Cartier’s operation processed more than $470 million in illicit proceeds, far more than the $14.5 million directly attributed to Zuluaga Duque. Cartier had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
Cocaine import conspiracy added to the case
Investigators also connected Zuluaga Duque to a plan to move cocaine from Colombia into New York. In November 2023, confidential sources working with law enforcement arranged a transaction involving about nine kilograms of cocaine paste that prosecutors said was meant to be processed into cocaine before delivery to New York state.
Prosecutors said Adrian Fernando Areiza Ceballos delivered the narcotics to an undercover officer, while Zuluaga Duque received a commission for helping arrange the deal. The investigation continued into February 2024, when authorities set up another proposed purchase for roughly 100 kilograms of cocaine paste. Colombian police later executed search warrants and recovered about 111 kilograms.
Arrests, forfeiture and sentencing
Colombian authorities arrested Zuluaga Duque and other defendants in Medellín on April 30, 2024, with Interpol’s assistance. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the defendants used cryptocurrency, shell companies and traditional banking channels to move criminal proceeds across international borders.
Along with the 160-month prison sentence, the court imposed five years of supervised release. All five co-defendants have also been sentenced, receiving prison terms ranging from three to eight years.
What the case shows next
The prosecution framed the matter as an example of how crypto was used as one part of a broader laundering system rather than as the entire mechanism. In the government’s account, USDT helped transfer value across borders, but shell companies, U.S. bank accounts and dollar transactions were central to turning those funds back into spendable pesos in Colombia.
With Zuluaga Duque sentenced and the co-defendants also having received prison terms, the next confirmed stage in the case is the enforcement of the forfeiture order covering nearly $14.75 million and the identified cryptocurrency holdings.
Source: news.bitcoin.com