The Bankers

To give their skimming operation a veneer of legitimacy, the gang’s front company, Top Life Servicios, signed an agreement with mid-sized Mexican bank Banco Multiva in March 2014. Multiva belongs to a conglomerate led by Olegario Vázquez Aldir, whose family is considered one of the richest in Mexico and who was appointed to the business advisory council of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018. The agreement with Top Life Servicios was a win-win, in the eyes of the bank. Multiva’s name would be branded on the gang’s ATMs across the Mayan Riviera, where it had no presence, while both companies would share the fees charged at the machines. Multiva cancelled its contract with Top Life in April 2019, after the gang’s leader, Florian Tudor, was arrested for carrying a military-grade firearm. Two directors stressed to OCCRP they knew nothing about the gang’s scam or Top Life’s criminal connections.