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Gurkaran Singh Isshpunani, Leader of International Money Laundering Organization, Arraigned in LA
LOS ANGELES – Gurkaran Singh Isshpunani, the leader of an international money laundering organization, has been arraigned in Los Angeles on federal charges that allege he moved millions of dollars in drug money for organizations that included the Sinaloa Cartel.
Isshpunani, 34, was arrested on September 14 in Buffalo, New York as he attempted to enter the United States from Canada. A federal magistrate ordered Isshpunani held without bond and directed that he be transported to Los Angeles, where he arrived last night.
The indictment charges Isshpunani and 21 other defendants with conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business (a hawala), and a substantive count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The indictment specifically alleges that the hawala network transferred more than $4.5 million in narcotics proceeds and was involved in the trafficking of 29 kilograms of cocaine and approximately 90 pounds of methamphetamine.
However, during the course of a four-year federal wiretap investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s LA Strike Force and IRS – Criminal Investigation, authorities seized a total of $15,467,293 in bulk United States currency, 321 kilograms of cocaine, 98 pounds of methamphetamine, 11 kilograms of MDMA (“ecstasy”) and nine kilograms of heroin.
Isshpunani is a hawaladar, a broker in a network of Indian men who move money based on a trust system.
“Drug traffickers in Canada would generate drug proceeds from multi-kilogram and multi-pound sales of narcotics, and then use the hawala network to launder those proceeds and transfer them to the Sinaloa Cartel and their affiliated drug trafficking organizations,” the indictment states.
The indictment explains that a hawala needs at least two brokers who are typically located in separate countries to transfer monetary value based solely upon the trust that exists between the brokers.
Gurkaran Singh Isshpunani, Defendant
Charges: Conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business (a hawala), and a substantive count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business
City and State: Los Angeles, California
Arrest Date: September 14, 2023
Outcome: Currently being held without bond
Dollar Amounts: $4.5 million in narcotics proceeds, $15,467,293 in bulk United States currency
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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