Organized crime grants credit to people without access to these services and then extorts them: financial authorities

Authorities and financial sector experts point out that criminal organizations in Mexico they contact traders, microentrepreneurs and farmerss of communities no access to financial services for offer credit and then extort money or strip them of their properties.

They said it is a problem in the country that has been recorded for “several” years because of the lack of development and support, so this is not a new practice.

“There are communities in Yucatán, for example, where a lot of financial companies arrive, the worst case is that they are not financial, it’s organized crime that comes in and says it’s going to lend 2,000 or 3,000 pesos to people and then bill them. , and people pay because they get their support but they cheat and end up charging them 15 or 20 thousand pesos»Said Diana Álvarez Maury, CEO of Banco del Bienestar, according to The day.

In a meeting, where the media were present, Álvarez Maury explained that when people no longer have the resources to pay the loans “They demand that they donate their land, so there is this abuse at the community level”. In addition, they pay with resources provided by the federal government via social programs.

The problem has existed “for several years” because people do not have the necessary financing for their business and traditional banks don’t reach every city in Mexico, said Claudia Revilla, managing director of ProDesarrollo, a company that brings together different microfinance institutions.

“Of course, organized crime gives credit and this is due to the discrimination that banks have exacerbated their account or branch closures, this is a consequence“, He said in an interview with The day.

“The problem is not only legal and falls under the program of prevention of money laundering, but the extortion of clients against these groups whose collection strategies even endanger their physical integrity beyond the heritage, ”added Revilla.

The president of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services to Users (Condusef), Oscar Rosado Jiménez, stressed that the problem in the country is detectedHowever, so far there are no complaints.

“Two factors are combined: extortion and the alleged credits Express, What they are a hoax. It is a complex question in isolated rural locations, without connectivity or computers, where it’s very difficult to know if the person offering you a loan is an authorized institution, ”he said.

According to the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) and its study Geography of financial inclusion, in Mexico there are 68,488 locations without a financial infrastructure point within a two kilometer perimeter; 50,863 that do not have an infrastructure point in a four kilometer zone, Y 30,000 pitches without access within a radius of seven kilometers.

They reported that a financial infrastructure point can be an ATM, a correspondent such as OXXO convenience stores or a bank branch. The State of Mexico, Veracruz, Chiapas and Puebla, are the federal entities in Mexico with the lesser amount financial services.

“We need to find a way to eliminate these groups and find a way to stand up for our communities, which receive support but fall victim to organized crime or the financial companies that abuse it,” the Welfare Bank could act on it»Said Álvarez Maury.

“The elimination of this problem is achieved through financial education, with value, incentives and recognition from members of the financial system and with access to finance,” Revilla said.

With information from The day

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