A judge has issued another warrant for the arrest of former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya on corruption charges.
The warrant orders Lozoya’s detention on charges of conducting operations with resources of illicit origin, criminal association and bribery.
The accusations relate to the purchase of a home in Ixtapa, Guerrero, which is registered in the name of Lozoya’s wife and was seized by the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) on July 7. It has been valued at US $1.9 million.
The warrant was issued by a Mexico City judge on July 4 but its details weren’t made public until yesterday.
The first warrant for Lozoya’s arrest was issued in late May in connection with the 2014 sale of a fertilizer plant to Pemex by steelmaker Altos Hornos de México.
The warrant was suspended in early June but reinstated two weeks later.
The FGR announced earlier this month that it also obtained a warrant for the former Pemex chief’s arrest in connection with bribes he allegedly received from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which has been at the center of corruption scandals in several Latin American countries.
Lawyer Javier Coello Trejo told the state news agency Notimex that the Odebrecht arrest warrant also names his client’s wife, mother and sister, joking that authorities only forgot Lozoya’s dog and parakeet.
The Ixtapa home owned by Marielle Helene Eckes was allegedly purchased with funds provided by Altos Hornos de México owner and president Alonso Ancira, who was arrested in Mallorca, Spain, in May.
According to the government, the US $475 million Pemex paid to Ancira’s company for the fertilizer plant was more than nine times its real value.
Coello Trejo said in June that Lozoya is in Mexico City, but warned that he will not be arrested because authorities will not be able to find him.
Yesterday, he said that his client is not concerned about the warrants against him because he knows that he can prove his innocence.
However, the former Pemex chief, who managed the oil company between 2012 and 2016, is annoyed that his mother has been targeted, Coello added.
Source: El Financiero (sp), Notimex (sp)
