Mexico City, Mexico — Alejandro Gertz Manero, the Attorney General of Mexico, has announced that the former director of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya has denounced former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto and former secretary Luis Videgaray of corruption in the form of bribery.
The announcement was made during a televised statement by Gertz Manero who reported that according to Lozoya, the bribes amounted to more than 400 million peso and were allegedly for an energy reform involving Odebrecht and the 2012 presidential campaign.
During his announcement, Gertz Manero said “the one who later became president (Enrique Peña Nieto) and his Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores de México (Luis Videgaray) are being pointed out as the ones who ordered the delivery of the money to several foreign electoral advisers who collaborated and worked for the campaign of these two people.”
“Then comes vote buying for structural reforms in 2013 and 2014. There is also talk of 120 million peso that was ordered by the same people to go to a deputy and five senators,” he added while reserving their names.
In the case of the Ethylene XXI plant “there were a series of economic benefits in favor of this company, which is also linked to a Mexican company that is a partner of Odebrecht, who were also given a series of privileges in the input of prices in which the federal government had very large losses.”
Gertz Manero said that “in all these cases, he says the systems were used by these two people (Peña Nieto and Videgaray) who gave him instructions to deliver 84 million pesos to various legislators, to a finance secretary of a political party, and later also an amount greater than 200 million pesos to direct them to the electoral reform through a link,” he explained.
“Regarding these statements that he makes, he has indicated four witnesses, has delivered receipts and a video. As of this moment, the Attorney General’s Office has opened the corresponding investigation folder and we are going to begin to carry out all the investigative procedures,” said Gertz Manero adding that “in the event it is appropriate, Peña and Videgaray will be called to make declarations.”
The former director of Pemex filed the official complaint with the Attorney General’s Office while he himself is under criminal proceedings, accused of criminal association, operations with resources of illicit origin and bribery.