Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has joined a bipartisan group of six attorneys general seeking answers from WeChat regarding its alleged role in facilitating fentanyl trafficking and illegal money laundering in the United States. The coalition is concerned that the Chinese messaging app, owned by Tencent, is being used by traffickers to communicate and launder money related to drug sales.
“We will use every available resource to track down and bring to justice the criminal cartels and ringleaders who seek to bring fentanyl into our state,” said Attorney General Platkin. “As part of these ongoing efforts, we’re making crystal clear today that we and our fellow attorneys general will hold accountable tech companies that are complicit in fentanyl trafficking and money laundering.”
WeChat is a widely used messaging and payment app with over a billion users globally, including 19 million in the United States. Investigations have shown that it enables traffickers to move large sums of cash through encrypted transactions from the U.S. to China, then on to Mexico where much of the fentanyl is produced.
The attorneys general have given WeChat 30 days to provide detailed responses about measures being taken to prevent such activities on their platform. In New Jersey and across the U.S., laundering drug money remains illegal.
Several cases highlight WeChat’s involvement in fentanyl operations:
– The 2021 conviction of Xizhi Li for operating a transnational criminal ring using WeChat.
– Operation Chem Capture in 2023, where multiple entities were indicted for selling chemicals used in fentanyl production via apps like WeChat.
– A recent arrest by the U.S. Department of Justice involving an international money laundering ring using WeChat.
Despite these incidents, it remains unclear if WeChat has addressed these issues within its platform. The letter from the attorneys general demands clarity on this matter.
Joining Attorney General Platkin are North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.
