Indian national, wife sanctioned by federal authorities for smuggling people into US

New York, Oct 31 (PTI) An Indian national, his wife, his organisation that smuggled people into the US from across continents along with at least 16 companies have been sanctioned by the US federal authorities.

Officials claimed that Vikrant Bhardwaj and his Cancun, Mexico-based transnational criminal organisation Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organisation (HSO) blended various transportation methods to facilitate the travel — by air and sea — of undocumented migrants from countries that pose national security concerns to the United States utilising its own yachts and marinas.

Bhardwaj, his HSO, three other individuals, and 16 companies that have facilitated and profited from the criminal activities have been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The transnational criminal organisation (TCO) smuggled thousands of illegal people from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia into the United States. In addition to human smuggling, the criminal organisation is also involved in drug trafficking, bribery, and money laundering.

Bhardwaj is a dual Indian-Mexican national and the leader of the Bhardwaj HSO. A self-identified founder and chief executive officer of several companies in Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bhardwaj collected and laundered illicit money through his marinas and various businesses.

He has been able to evade law enforcement authorities while continuing to profit from human smuggling and drug trafficking, the US Department of Treasury said in a statement Thursday.

Bhardwaj’s wife Indu Rani is also a dual Indian-Mexican national who is involved in her husband’s financial operations and serves as a co-shareholder of several companies in India and Mexico.

She is being designated for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Bhardwaj.

In addition to exposing key individuals of the Bhardwaj HSO, OFAC designated India-based real estate company Veena Shivani Estates Private Limited for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Bhardwaj and Rani.

The OFAC also designated eight companies based in Mexico, India, and the UAE for their roles in the scheme. These include a restaurant and bar in India Michigantap Hospitality and three companies engaged in real estate activities in India, and the UAE: VVN Buildcon, Bhavishya Realcon and VVN Real Estate.

The Treasury Department is taking action to crack down on human smugglers at the direction of Secretary Scott Bessent and President Donald Trump, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said.

“Today’s action, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, disrupts this network’s ability to smuggle illegal aliens into the United States. The Trump Administration will continue to target and dismantle terrorist transnational criminal organisations to protect the American people,” Hurley said.

The Treasury Department described the Bhardwaj HSO as a “sophisticated” organisation that has blended various transportation methods to facilitate the travel — by air and sea — of undocumented migrants from countries that pose national security concerns to the United States.

The criminal organisation utilised its own yachts and marinas to transport undocumented migrants into Mexico. Upon arriving in Cancun, it then facilitated housing for the migrants in hostels and hotels before coordinating with associates to transport the migrants to the US-Mexico border.

In collaboration with members of the OFAC-designated Hernandez Salas TCO, the Bhardwaj HSO used the Tapachula-Cancun-Mexicali corridor to smuggle undocumented migrants into the United States.

The Hernandez Salas was designated as TCO by the OFAC in June 2023 for being a foreign entity that constitutes a significant transnational criminal organisation.

According to the federal authorities, human smuggling services contracted by the Bhardwaj HSO generate thousands of dollars per individual.

The criminal organisation received operational support from individuals employed by the Sinaloa Cartel.

OFAC designated the Bhardwaj HSO for being a foreign person that constitutes a significant transnational criminal organisation and also listed two more people involved with him in the criminal activities.

Jose German Valadez Flores, a businessman and drug trafficker, a close associate of Bhardwaj, played a significant role in smuggling migrants into Cancun by bribing corrupt Mexican officials while Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas, a former police officer in the state of Quintana Roo, who had access to the Cancun International Airport, helped coordinate the arrival and departure of undocumented migrants, the statement said.

Since 2020, Villegas has supported the Bhardwaj HSO human smuggling and drug trafficking activities through the Cancun International Airport.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC, it added. PTI YAS NPK NPK