Mexican-Chinese Precursor Drug Supplier Zhenli Ye Gon May Face More Charges in Mexico and 40 Years in Prison

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Zhenli Ye Gon, a Chinese-Mexican businessman suspected of providing Chinese chemicals to Mexican drug cartels and being involved in money laundering since the 2000s, will likely face additional criminal charges. 

A tribunal court in the State of Mexico refused to accept Ye Gon's motion, which sought to prevent Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) issuing additional criminal charges against him.

In 2020, Ye Gon sent his case to the Supreme Court of the Justice and argued that he should be released from prison because his charges had reached their statue of limitations. The charges were included in an arrest warrant issued against him on 13 June 2007 for illegal possession of firearms, but he was not formally indicted until 18 October 2016, overly nine (9) years later. 

However, the court decided that the charges had not expired, and confirmed that he is still being investigated for five counts of drug trafficking, two counts of organized crime involvement, and one for money laundering.

His organized crime involvement charge includes an aggravated factor because it was done along with drug trafficking. If convicted of this crime alone, Ye Gon faces between 20 and 40 years in prison. 

Background

Ye Gon was born in China in January 31, 1963 and became a naturalized citizen in 2002 under the presidency of Vicente Fox. The President himself awarded him his citizenship status; at that time, the Mexican government thought that Ye Gon was a promising pharmaceutical investor and entrepreneur.

But Ye Gon was reportedly working as a chemical provider for Mexican drug cartels. He was suspected of importing chemicals from a Chinese firm and selling them to gangsters in Mexico to create crystal meth.

In 2007, Mexican federales busted his mansion in Lomas de Chapultepec, one of the most-exclusive neighborhoods in Mexico City. In his mansion they found US$205.6M dollars in cash pilled in several rooms. At the time, DEA agents stated that the money seized at Ye Gon’s mansion was the "biggest cash bust" seen anywhere in the world.

Part of the currency seized at Ye Gon's mansion (2007)

"I was not in Mexico when the events of this operation happened. At home I had cash, dollars, Mexican pesos, euros and other foreign currency," Ye Gon said in his defense.

He argued that all his assets were legal and that he had invoices with their corresponding import taxes to prove it. Ye Gon said that he kept his money in his house because he did not trust banks and because at that time he was not allowed to open a bank account using U.S. dollars. In the past, he told reporters that the money was going to be used to finance political campaigns in Mexico.

Ye Gon was in Las Vegas when his house was raided and denied any wrongdoing. Authorities found it suspicious that he spent millions of dollars in Las Vegas casinos, often in a single night. American prosecutors tried to frame him for importing crystal meth, but his charges were later dropped.

He remained in U.S. custody until 2016, when he was extradited to Mexico. He is currently imprisoned at the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 ("Altiplano"), Mexico's maximum-security facility.

Charges in Mexico

After his extradition to Mexico, Ye Gon sent a letter to a journalist stating that there were US$275 million in his house when it was seized in 2007. However, he argued that the Attorney General's Office only declared that there were US$205.6 million dollars.

Ye Gon said that Mexican authorities also seized more assets, included works of art, piano collections, exclusive wines and gold bars, which he claims were never reported.

The court stated that from February 16 to September 19, 2005, Ye Gon (as legal representative and shareholder of Unimed Pharm Chem México) received a US$9.4 million dollar transfer that he knew came from illegal origins. At least US$900,000 of this total amount came from a source that has not been identified yet.

Mexican prosecutors stated that the US$9.4 million dollars in question are different than the US$205.6 seized in his mansion.

Ye Gon is currently imprisoned in Mexico despite his multiple attempts to regain freedom through legal motions. He claims that the crimes he is imprisoned for have prescribed, but the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined that they are still in full effect and will now look to add more charges.

Sources: Milenio; Borderland Beat archives