Treasury Designates Companies and Individuals Tied to Productos

Farmaceuticos Collins

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today named two Mexico-based companies and six individuals as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers for their ties to Productos Farmaceuticos Collins (Collins), a pharmaceutical company in Jalisco, Mexico designated by OFAC in 2008. Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), today's designation freezes any assets the eight designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these individuals and entities.

Today's action targets Collins executives and family members of Collins owner Telesforo Baltazar Tirado Escamilla for assisting the company in attempting to evade sanctions. Collins officers Felipe de Jesus Espinosa de los Monteros Rico and Aurora Brambila Martinez and companies Insumos Ecologicos de Oriente and Alimentos Selectos San Francisco have actively assisted Collins in attempting to evade sanctions. Additionally, Maria Teresa Diaz Castro, Baltazar Tirado Diaz, Maria Teresa Tirado Diaz, and Liliana Guadalupe Tirado Diaz serve as key front individuals for Collins and its owner, Telesforo Baltazar Tirado Escamilla.

"Our message to the Amezcua Contreras Organization and other Mexican drug cartels is clear," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "Your money is not safe, and those who help to conceal it will pay a heavy price."

On October 2, 2008, OFAC designated Collins as part of a pseudoephedrine diversion network that supports the Amezcua Contreras Organization, an organization identified by the President on June 1, 2006 as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Kingpin Act. The Amezcua Contreras Organization uses the diverted pseudoephedrine as a precursor for methamphetamine production.

Today's designation, supported by the Mexico offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, is part of ongoing efforts under the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers worldwide. Internationally, more than 500 businesses and individuals associated with 82 drug kingpins have been designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000.

Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.