The Official Investigations

Law enforcement bodies have launched several investigations into the Riviera Maya gang. Romanian authorities opened a money laundering probe in 2016 after discovering the gang had moved 250,000 euros from Mexico and the US through the country. One year later, prosecutors started a criminal investigation into the gang covering 11 offenses, including wire fraud, threats and creating an organized crime group. In Romania, one member of the group has also been investigated for people smuggling. The last case, for attempted murder and the Mexican ATM skimming scheme, dates from 2019. In Mexico, there are several investigations into the gang connected to card cloning and bank fraud. Its leader, Florian Tudor, was briefly arrested last year for unlawful possession of a weapon. In Romania last year, police raided 14 locations associated with the criminal group in July 2019. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Romania’s DIICOT also invited Mexican authorities to meet in Bucharest to discuss further details of Tudor’s operation.