Mexican agency accuses Ex-Mexico president Pena Nieto of corruption
Robert Besser
- Mexico’s anti-money laundering agency has accused ex-President Enrique Pena Nieto of having been paid millions of dollars in possibly illegal funds
- Despite previous allegations of corruption during his 2012-2018 administration, the move is the first formal legal accusation against Pena Nieto
- The move is a sign that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is increasingly serious about his promise to prosecute corruption
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: In a sign that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is increasingly serious about his promise to prosecute corruption, Mexico’s anti-money laundering agency has accused ex-President Enrique Pena Nieto of having been paid millions of dollars in possibly illegal funds.
Despite previous allegations of corruption during his 2012-2018 administration, the move is the first formal legal accusation against Pena Nieto.
The criminal complaint by the government’s Financial Intelligence Unit against Pena Nieto does not constitute formal charges, but the unit’s head, Pablo Gomez, said federal prosecutors have received the complaint alleging use of illicit funds and are investigating.
Gomez said a company run by Pena Nieto’s family while he was president had “a symbiotic relationship” with a firm that received about $500 million in government contracts.
Pena Nieto had received money transfers from a relative, apparently linked to the two companies, for about $1.3 million after leaving office, Gomez added, noting that Pena Nieto’s accounts and those of the companies have not been blocked.
This week, Pena Nieto, who moved to Spain after leaving office, wrote on his Twitter account that his money was legally obtained.
“I am certain that the appropriate authorities will allow me to clear up any questions about my holdings, and to prove their legality through legal channels. I have confidence in legal institutions,” he said.
The former head of Mexico’s state-run oil company under Pena Nieto, Emilio Lozoya, has claimed that Pena Nieto and his right-hand man, then-Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray, directed him to bribe lawmakers, including five senators, to support controversial energy and other structural reforms in 2013 and 2014.
Videgaray has denied the accusations.
The failure to prosecute any top figures from previous administrations and the failure of Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero to build a strong legal case based on Lozoya’s allegations have embarrassed the Lopez Obrador administration.
The previous hands-off approach towards Pena Nieto has caused speculation that Lopez Obrador had reached a gentleman’s agreement with the ex-president in 2018.
Yet last year, Lopez Obrador sponsored a national referendum for Mexican voters regarding whether to prosecute former leaders accused of wrongdoing, but it failed to reach the 40 percent participation required to make the vote binding.
