Phoenix – State prosecutors investigating suspected money laundering by immigrant smugglers were dealt a blow when an appeals court voided an attempt to gather information on money transfers into northern Mexico.
In a ruling released Tuesday, the Arizona Court of Appeals annulled a lower court’s order that Western Union Financial Services provide information on wire transfers of $300 or more from any of its worldwide locations into the northern Mexican state of Sonora for a three-year period.
The appeals court said that the information requested by the Arizona attorney general’s office wasn’t justified and that the prosecutors failed to establish a tie between Arizona and a large number of the locations in Mexico.
The case, however, is headed back to the lower court, which is to decide whether any remaining element of the order should stand.
“I appreciate the guidance the Court of Appeals has provided on how the subpoenas should be issued,” Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said Tuesday. “This office will now follow the guidelines outlined by the court for our next subpoenas and renew our enforcement efforts in Mexico.
“Although this ruling will delay our investigation somewhat, it clears the way for us to move forward to combat smuggling organizations in Arizona,” Goddard added.
A spokeswomen for Douglas County-based Western Union said Tuesday that the company didn’t have immediate comment on the ruling.
In January, a different judge struck down the first effort by prosecutors in Arizona to seize suspected immigrant-smuggling money flowing from other American states into northern Mexico.
