Chairman Ben Wikler reacts to news that Hovde’s bank flew $26 million across the U.S.-Mexico border from a bank with ties to a Mexican cartel – WisPolitics

MADISON, Wis. — Today, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler responded to the shocking news that Banco Azteca, a Mexican bank long alleged to be used by drug cartels and shut down by other U.S. banks for that reason, flew $26 million in cash across the U.S.-Mexico border directly to Eric Hovde’s bank in California.

Click here for a recording of the press conference, which is available for public use.

Wikler raised questions about Eric Hovde’s shady business dealings with foreign entities such as Banco Azteca and called on Hovde to reveal which foreign entities provided his bank with millions of dollars in deposits.

“The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s report on Hovde’s bank receiving millions of dollars in cash across the border is illuminating, and Eric Hovde needs to come clean about what other foreign entities his bank does business with,” said Wikler. “If he isn’t honest, how can the people of Wisconsin trust Eric Hovde to work for them instead of his shady foreign business partners?”

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler

Eric Hovde has no intention of giving up ownership of his $3.2 billion California bank if he’s elected to the Senate. That means he can vote on banking regulatory policy while retaining ownership of his bank and continuing to make a profit from it.