At least nine candidates who won last Sunday’s election, and who in the coming months will become governors, mayors or federal deputies, are under investigation for their alleged responsibility in crimes of corruption, diversion of resources, vote buying and even money laundering.
One of them, the virtual next governor of Chihuahua, has already been linked to the trial and is on the threshold of reaching the trial. Two more candidates, who will take over as mayor and federal deputy, managed to stop with the fueros that they held – and that will renew – the issuance of arrest warrants against them.
The remaining candidates, including Former Morena Secretary General Yeidckol Polevnsky, have open investigation files against them in the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), in state prosecutors’ offices, or in instances such as the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Finance.
The following are the cases in which the candidates concerned are involved. These are cases that Political Animal reviewed through data that this medium obtained previously or from what was published or already reported in other media, without this excluding that there are other candidates who are also under investigation.
Duarte’s secret payroll
According to investigations by the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office, between 2014 and 2016 the administration of chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte diverted nearly one billion pesos from the state’s public coffers in order to bribe multiple opposition officials and legislators.
The documents of the investigation to which this media outlet had access indicate that former Governor Duarte – currently imprisoned in the United States while his extradition procedure is being carried out – had formed a “secret list” of people to whom he gave that money and for whose payments, even, receipts were issued.
Three candidates who triumphed in the elections on Sunday are rightly implicated in this plot of possible corruption.
One of them is the PAN candidate for the government of Chihuahua, Maria Eugenia Campos, who according to the quick counts released by the Electoral Institute of that entity would have won the vote with more than 58% of the votes cast.
Campos has already been formally charged before a judge for having received nine million pesos as a result of the aforementioned bribes when she headed the PAN bloc in the local Congress. On April 2, the judge decided to link her to trial for the crime of bribery, and the case is currently in the complementary investigation phase before reaching trial.
Another implicated in the case is Morena Senator and candidate for mayor of Ciudad Juarez, Cruz Perez Cuellar, who last Sunday won with more than 48% of the vote. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office’s investigation, this legislator received bribes of two and a half million pesos in six payments made by the local Finance Secretariat.
The accusation against Perez Cuellar is also ready, however, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has not been able to proceed against him due to the jurisdiction he holds as a senator. The case reached the Investigative Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies, which on 29 April determined that the immunity was not appropriate. This forces the Prosecutor’s Office to wait until it has such protection before proceeding against it.
Armando Cabada Alvidrez is another candidate who was the winner of a federal deputation last Sunday, after Morena nominated him third on his list of multi-member candidates corresponding to the First District. According to the state prosecutor’s office’ inquiry, his name also appears among those who received bribes on the “secret payroll.”
Toledo’s Unexplained Enrichment
The former mayor of Coyoacán, Mauricio Toledo, obtained last Sunday a new federal deputation after being nominated by the Labor Party in the 05th District of Puebla. This will allow the politician to repeat for the second consecutive time as a legislator in the Lower House.
But Toledo is in the crosshairs of the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City, which has integrated an investigation file against him for his probable responsibility in the crime of illicit enrichment. This after finding discrepancies in his assets that exceed 11 million pesos.
After gathering sufficient evidence to proceed against him, last May the Prosecutor General’s Office sent the request for a trial of origin and immunity against Toledo to the Chamber of Deputies. The instructor section received it and prepared a Decit also states that it is appropriate to withdraw protection from the legislator.
This means that although he won the election to repeat for another term as a deputy, the former mayor could lose his icy in the coming weeks and be prosecuted before a judge for the aforementioned crime.
Washing and triangulation in Samuel’s circle
The senator with license of Citizen Movement, Samuel Garcia, obtained last Sunday the victory in the dispute for the governorship of the state of Nuevo Leon. This after beating the PRI candidate, Adrian de la Garza, who came in second place, by almost ten points.
The future governor of Nuevo Leon has opened an investigation file against him in the FGR for possible operations with resources of illicit origin, tax fraud and whatever results. His wife, father and father-in-law are also under investigation.
Political Animal revealed on April 23 that an investigation by the Ministry of Finance had identified operations with shell companies and the triangulation of more than 170 million pesos in Garcia’s entourage. The FGR confirmed shortly after the opening of the investigation based on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), which is still being integrated.
The 400 million Yeidckol
The FGR has an ongoing investigation file against the former Secretary General of Morena Yeidckol Polevnsky, for her probable responsibility in the crimes of embezzlement and other corruption. The inquiry was opened in June last year following a complaint brought by his own party.
According to the data of the investigation to which this media outlet had access, Polevnsky reportedly ordered the express payment of 395 million pesos to two suppliers for remodeling works that were not carried out. This was when he was secretary-general of that political institute.
But from September, Polevnsky will have constitutional jurisdiction that will protect her from an eventual accusation, after last Sunday she achieved through the plurinominal route a federal deputation after being included in the list of candidates of Morena for the fifth electoral district.
Gallardo: possible electoral crimes
The FGR through its Special Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation of Electoral Crimes has an ongoing investigation against Ricardo Gallardo Salgado, who last Sunday turned out to be the winning candidate in the race for governor of San Luis Potosi.
The investigation against the candidate of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico began last May after two of his opponents filed formal complaints for alleged coercion or vote buying during his campaign.
The complaint filed accuses Gallardo of having promised resources in exchange for votes through the distribution of a card called “La Cumplidora.” This is a similar event to the one that motivated the inquiry into the coercion of the vote against candidate Adrián de la Garza in Nuevo León.
The Romanian Shadow
The licensed municipal president of Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Laura Lynn Fernández Piña, achieved last Sunday the victory in the dispute for a federal deputation corresponding to the Electoral District 04. This after being nominated for that position by the alliance of the Green Party and Morena.
On Lynn, there is an ongoing investigation by the UIF into alleged money laundering operations led by Romanian businessman Florian Tudor, who was accused of heading a mafia dedicated to the cloning of bank cards that operated from Cancun.
According to what was revealed by the newspaper millennium, Fernández Piña was part of Tudor’s network of political contacts to obtain favors, something that the next federal deputy has denied. Lynn’s alleged link to shell companies involved in alleged diversions of resources is also being investigated.
It should be noted that Laura Lynn Fernández Piña served in the past as Quintana Roo’s secretary of tourism in the government of Roberto Borge, who is also imprisoned on various charges of corruption and money laundering.
Mismanagement in Puebla
Edmundo Tlatehui Percino will be the next mayor of the municipality of San Andrés Cholula in Puebla, having won the election for the PAN-PRD coalition with 39% of the votes cast in his favor.
This is despite the fact that the Attorney General’s Office of the state of Puebla is investigating him for possible embezzlement of resources when he served as Secretary of Works of the same city council in the administration of Mayor Leoncio Paisano Arias, who has already been prosecuted and is being found.in pre-trial detention.
The criminal investigation arose from a complaint filed by the Superior State Audit Office that identified the possible diversion of more than 42 million pesos during paisano Arias’ administration.
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