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Drug networks move money
through companies.

Narcotics trafficking organizations rely on legitimate-looking corporate structures to move precursor chemicals, launder proceeds, and obscure beneficial owners. Sayari traces the corporate network behind the financial network.

THE REGULATORY REALITY
65%
of major narcotics trafficking organizations identified by DEA in 2024 used three or more layers of corporate ownership to distance principals from financial activity. Standard financial investigation tools don’t expose this structure.
DEA National Drug Threat Assessment 2024 · Sayari Research
THE PROBLEM

Why financial investigation alone misses the structure

The structural gaps that point solutions can’t close.

01

Corporate layering for proceeds

DTO proceeds move through shell companies, cash-intensive businesses, and nominee-owned entities across multiple jurisdictions. Each layer is designed to appear legitimate when screened independently.

02

Precursor chemical networks

Chemical precursors for fentanyl and methamphetamine flow through networks of trading companies, many registered in China, Mexico, and third-country transshipment jurisdictions, with deliberate ownership opacity.

03

Beneficial owner concealment

DTO principals use nominees, attorneys, and corporate service providers to register entities without appearing in any public record. Identifying the real beneficial owner requires cross-jurisdictional data integration.

THE SAYARI APPROACH

Trace the corporate structure behind narco-finance.

Sayari integrates corporate registry filings, trade flow data, beneficial ownership records, and financial intelligence across 250+ jurisdictions – mapping the full network from DTO principal to front company.

Beneficial Owner Identification

Traverse ownership chains across jurisdictions to identify the natural person ultimately controlling a corporate network – including nominee arrangements and attorney-registered entities.

Precursor Trade Flow Mapping

Sayari Map links HS code-level shipment data for known precursor chemicals to corporate ownership networks – revealing the supplier-to-DTO supply chain.

Proceeds Network Mapping

Map corporate ownership structures used to layer and integrate drug proceeds – connecting cash-intensive businesses, real estate holdings, and financial entities to known or suspected principals.

Cross-Agency Intelligence Integration

Sayari’s API enables integration with FinCEN, OFAC, DEA, and HSI databases – providing a unified investigative layer across agency holdings.

network_trace.log
> Corporate Network Analysis
entity: “Pacific Logistics Group S.A. (MX)”
✓ Resolved across 4 registry sources
✓ 47 nodes mapped · 6 jurisdictions
✓ 89 ownership edges resolved
> Cartel Affiliation Scan
⚠ Shared director: 3 OFAC-designated entities
⚠ Address overlap: Sinaloa network front cos.
✗ Probable cartel financial infrastructure
intel.brief(target=”PLG-SA-0099″, cartel=”Sinaloa”) → referral
Sayari Graph – cartel network & illicit finance tracing
HOW IT WORKS

From data to decision

01
IDENTIFY

Start from any known actor or network

Begin with a known DTO entity, a suspicious trade shipment, or a financial alert flagged by FinCEN or a financial institution.

02
MAP

Corporate and trade network traversal

Sayari maps all corporate relationships – ownership, co-directorship, co-registration – and links to trade flow records for precursor chemicals.

03
TARGET

Prioritize for action

Identify high-value targets: beneficial owners, financial infrastructure nodes, and precursor suppliers most critical to DTO operations.

6B+

Records in Sayari’s integrated world model

Sayari’s world model integrates corporate registries, trade manifests, beneficial ownership filings, and enforcement databases into a single persistent entity graph – enabling the kind of cross-domain network analysis that narcotics investigators need.

Sayari Research · 2025
WHY SAYARI

Legacy tools vs Sayari

LEGACY TOOLS
Financial data only – misses the corporate structure used to launder proceeds and obscure principals
No cross-jurisdiction corporate integration – beneficial owner research is manual and jurisdiction-specific
No trade flow data – can’t map precursor chemical supply chains to DTOs
Siloed agency databases – no unified view across FinCEN, DEA, CBP, and OFAC holdings
SAYARI
Corporate + financial + trade in one model – full structural picture of DTO networks
Cross-jurisdiction beneficial owner resolution – 250+ registries normalized to a single entity layer
Precursor trade mapping – HS code shipment data linked to corporate ownership networks
API integration – connects Sayari’s world model to existing agency intelligence platforms
CLIENT RESULTS

Measured outcomes from production deployments

COVERAGE
250+
Jurisdictions with corporate registry data for beneficial owner tracing
SPEED
10×
Faster network mapping vs manual cross-registry research
DEPTH
10+
Degrees of corporate ownership separation Sayari can traverse in a single query
PRODUCTS FOR THIS USE CASE

Sayari products that power this workflow

Sayari Graph
Entity resolution and ownership graph for 500M+ companies across 250+ jurisdictions.
Explore Sayari Graph →
Sayari Map
Trade-flow intelligence mapping shipment data to corporate ownership networks.
Explore Sayari Map →
Sayari Signal
Continuous monitoring that alerts on meaningful changes across your counterparty base.
Explore Sayari Signal →
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common questions about this use case

Sayari traces corporate ownership networks, financial relationships, and trade flows associated with narcotics trafficking organizations – including fentanyl precursor supply chains, shell company networks used for drug proceeds laundering, and front companies used for logistics coordination. The platform links commercial corporate data with trade and financial intelligence.
Yes. Sayari has mapped the corporate networks of major Chinese chemical companies supplying fentanyl precursors, including their ownership structures, related party relationships, and U.S.-connected financial exposure. This enables targeting decisions based on corporate network data rather than individual transactional records alone.
Sayari provides the corporate ownership evidence needed to support OFAC SDN designations and related sanctions actions – including full beneficial ownership chains, related entity networks, and primary-source documentation from government registries.
Sayari provides deep coverage of Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American jurisdictions alongside offshore financial centers commonly used by trafficking networks: Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Panama, and others. Coverage includes both company and person-level records with directorship and ownership relationships.
GET STARTED

See a DTO network mapped across jurisdictions.

Request a demo to see Sayari trace beneficial ownership and trade flows for a narcotics enforcement target.

Resources & Insights

Recommended Resources

Investigation Brief
Illicit Fentanyl Supply Chains
Precursor sourcing, chemical diversion, and trafficking network mapping.
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Investigation Brief
Precursor Chemical Networks
Identifying diversion risk in pharmaceutical and chemical supply chains.
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Investigation Brief
European Narcotics Criminal Networks
Tracking transnational drug trafficking organizations and money laundering.
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View all resources →