Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, a French national, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Cartier was found guilty of operating an unregistered cryptocurrency over-the-counter (OTC) business and conspiring to commit bank fraud. He laundered over $470 million through a network of shell companies. Since 2018, Cartier used multiple U.S. bank accounts and falsified business records to convert illicit proceeds from drug trafficking into fiat currency via cryptocurrencies. These funds were then transferred to criminal networks abroad, including in Colombia. Cartier falsely claimed to be engaged in software business activities and fabricated documents to conceal the true source of the funds, failing to comply with anti-money laundering and registration obligations.