By arresting Emilio Lozoya’s sister on Thursday, federal prosecutors signaled that their long-stalled case against the former Pemex director is not over.

Gilda Susana Lozoya was apprehended by Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) agents upon arriving at the Mexico City airport on a flight from Amsterdam. The FGR said she faces money-laundering charges linked to bribes her brother allegedly received while in charge of the state oil company.

Gilda Susana was first accused of participating in illicit transfers made by her brother in 2019 and an initial arrest warrant was issued in 2020. As such, the FGR has considered her a fugitive from justice.

Upon being presented to the judge overseeing her case on Thursday, Gilda Susana claimed to be a victim of a “political” prosecution. “My mother, my sister-in-law, and I are being used to pressure my brother,” she said.

President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday denied the case is politically motivated, saying she has been assured by Attorney General Ernestina Godoy that there is solid evidence against Gilda Susana.

Emilio Lozoya was arrested with much fanfare in 2020 in a case that was expected to uncover corruption during the Ernesto Peña Nieto administration (2012-2018). 

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was president at the time of Lozoya’s 2020 arrest, called it a major breakthrough, insisting that Lozoya’s cooperation was vital for exposing the shady networks of “white-collar criminals” involved in the Odebrecht scandal.

The Brazilian construction company Odebrecht — convicted in multiple Latin American jurisdictions of using bribery to gain contracts and influence — stands accused of paying bribes to Mexican companies. 

Emilio was extradited from Spain in 2021 on charges of receiving bribes, money laundering and criminal association in connection with the Odebrecht case. However, the case remains stalled in courts and Lozoya was transferred from prison to house arrest in 2024 and is still awaiting trial.

Though the FGR has failed to win any convictions in the Odebrecht case, it has scored several financial victories.

It was allowed to execute asset forfeiture on Lozoya’s Mexico City mansion (valued at nearly US $3 million), transferring it permanently to state ownership.

In addition to the Odebrecht case, Lozoya allegedly involved his family in creating a complex financial and patrimonial web via offshore accounts and at banks in seven countries. Suspicious transactions raised alarms at banks in Switzerland, England and the United States, according to finance journalist Mario Maldonado.

Lozoya’s mother, Gilda Margarita Austin, was briefly detained by Interpol in Germany on suspicion of money-laundering, while properties in Europe belonging to Emilio’s ex-wife, Marielle Helene Eckes, have been raided.

The case against Gilda Susana also includes illicit funds related to Pemex’s controversial purchase of the Agronitrogenados fertilizer plant at an inflated price. Gilda Susana allegedly managed the money returned to Emilio in the form of kickbacks.

With reports from El Imparcial, El País, La Jornada and El Financiero