MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities suspended operations at 13 casinos that allegedly were used to launder millions of dollars overseas, officials said Wednesday.

Grupo Salinas, the conglomerate of companies belonging to TV, retail and banking magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who has clashed repeatedly with the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said that two of the targeted casinos belonged to it. The conglomerate denied any wrongdoing and accused the government of harassment in a statement.

The 13 companies involved allegedly had ties to organized crime, but Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said that did not necessarily mean cartels.

The schemes usually started with a stolen identity, said Grisel Galeano, Mexico’s top tax prosecutor. Students, homemakers o

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