Mamdani pressures regulators to block $500M Western Union acquisition as anti-business blitz continues

There he Zos again.Mayor Zohran Mamdani again stoked fears he’s fostering an anti-business blitz in New York City after he tried pressure state regulators to block a $500 million merger deal.Hizzoner sent a blistering letter to the New York State Department of Financial Services last month urging officials to block money transfer service Western Union’s bid to buy Intermex — a financial services company that focuses on helping transfers to Latin America.Hizzoner was one of only two people to submit comments to the DFS during the public comment period, which opened April 10 and is now closed.The merger would hurt New York City’s immigrant families who use the companies to send money – or remittances – back to their home countries, Mamdani’s letter argued.“In short, the merger would eliminate the head-to-head competition between Western Union and Intermex,” the letter states. “The likely result: higher prices and fees for immigrant families across New York City sending part of their paychecks home to support their loved ones, with less incentive to provide transparency and important consumer protections.”Mamdani butting in arguably serves as the latest example of the mayor’s attempt to flex his socialist bona fides in what critics say is pushing ideology over running the day-to-day operations of the city, with potentially disastrous results for the local economy.Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin last week said he’s adding more jobs in Miami over New York City as a “direct consequence” of Mamdani using his $238 billion as a backdrop to drum up support for a proposed tax on luxury second homes in the city.The reprisal stokes fears that Mamdani’s “tax the rich” antics will spark an exodus of bigwigs and their businesses.Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics“The people he says he is helping—those who suffer most from rising prices, and affordability issues—will be hurt th...