Lozoya’s contracts left damages of more than $5 billion pesos

At least 5,287 million pesos is the amount calculated as possible damage, harm or loss for Pemex and for the public treasury caused by the contracts that the company, under the direction of Emilio Lozoya, awarded to the companies Odebrecht and Altos Hornos de México, after the alleged payment of bribes.
One of the contracts assigned to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht was for the maintenance of the refinery in Tula, Hidalgo. The Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF) detected a possible damage of one thousand 287 million pesos, as described in the audit of physical investments 16-6-90T9M-04-0479, published in March 2021.
Regarding the case of the Agronitrogen fertilizer plant, sold at an extra price by Altos Hornos to Pemex, in the audit 2018-6-90T9I-20-0471-2019 471-DE, the ASF recognized the loss of at least 4 billion pesos, due to “impairment effects corresponding to the value of the three plants in which their rehabilitation process was omitted, without it being foreseen to resume it in the short and medium term.”

The analysis of the amounts for damages and losses generated by the awards promoted by the Lozoya administration in Pemex are now reviewed at the negotiating table between the parties, as confirmed last week by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 
This action comes after Lozoya offered 10 million dollars, plus five properties, as a “reparation of the damage to the treasury”, in exchange for the suspension of the criminal proceedings against him for the Odebrecht and Agronitrogenados cases and that he may be in a position to regain his freedom.
But for the Mexican government, 10 million dollars (about 200 million pesos) is not enough to repair the damage to Pemex. López Obrador said that it was he who gave the instruction to stop the agreement, because he considered that with that amount the damages that were caused to Pemex and the public treasury are not repaired. 

“It is being reviewed because information was requested and I believe that what they were considering as damage was that of Odebrecht, what Odebrecht allegedly gave to Mr. Lozoya and that is why there was talk of 10 million dollars, but the instruction I gave is that the patrimonial damages that exist be reviewed well, that things are not done lightly,” he said.
Animal Político published last Friday that the FGR is willing to suspend both criminal proceedings initiated against Lozoya and allow him to recover his freedom, as long as it reaches an agreement with the current Pemex administration regarding the amount he must pay.
What the ASF has documented is that the awards granted in favor of Odebrecht and Altos Hornos in the last six years represented a terrible business for Pemex. They were contracts delivered without an adequate valuation and without there really being a public competition for them, a situation to which are added multiple failures and negligence – possibly intentional – in the execution and supervision of the same.
Lozoya’s deal falls short
According to an analysis carried out by criminal lawyers consulted by Animal Político, the reparation of the damage, which is established in article 30 of the Federal Criminal Code, not only contemplates the “restitution of the thing obtained by the crime”, that is, what Lozoya allegedly obtained for bribes, but also the compensation of the damages caused and the cost of the opportunities that Pemex lost due to the cases of Odebrecht and Agronitrogenados. 
That is, the $10 million settlement offered by Lozoya does not meet the minimum established by law, since it completely excludes the consequences of his decisions.
“The reparation of the damage must be comprehensive, adequate, efficient, effective, proportional to the gravity of the damage caused and the affectation suffered,” says that article, which adds seven fractions that must be met, “at least”; for example: a public apology, lost wages, statements to repair Pemex’s reputation, among other actions.  
In the opinion of the jurists consulted, the reparation offered by Lozoya is “derisory”, because even in a hearing the representatives of Pemex said before the judge that the damages to the oil company are irreparable. 
In their analysis, the jurists wonder how it was that the situation went from “irreparable” to repairable, which caused Lozoya to seek a criterion of opportunity with the “reparation of damage”; however, the lawyers opined that even if an agreement is reached with the former director of Pemex, some public servants could commit the crime of “coalition”, provided for in Article 216 of the Federal Criminal Code. 
Estefanía Medina, co-founding lawyer of the civil organization expert in corruption issues TOJIL, agreed thatIt is not enough for the former Pemex director to return what he allegedly received. A correct quantification of the reparation of the damage must also include the consequences of the illegal act imputed to it.
“It is not only a question of paying an arbitrary amount of money, but of having an effective quantification of the amount of the acts and the effects that this caused in economic terms in the short and medium term. In addition, the clarification of the facts (access to truth and justice) is a fundamental element that cannot be left aside, especially when it comes to high-impact crimes that involve the violation of fundamental rights,” said the litigant.
TOJIL sent an official request last week to the federal judge responsible for the case, Artemio Zúñiga, not to accept any type of reparative agreement or alternative request to the process that does not comply with the above.
Shell companies
Since 2020, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) began tracking alleged money laundering operations linked to Lozoya that could reach up to 3 billion pesos.
In October 2020, Animal Político published that financial intelligence work had already allowed the identification of 50 allegedly ghost companies, mostly incorporated in Mexico, through which resources from the Brazilian construction company and its bribery structure would have been triangulated.
According to intelligence work, these are companies that are presumed to have been used by Odebrecht and former officials to displace bribe payments of which there was no record. 
That money would be a direct remuneration for the six contracts with their respective extensions that the Brazilian construction company achieved with Pemex in the management of Lozoya, for an amount that exceeds 3 billion pesos.
The heritage of Lozoya
Within the arrangement that Lozoya offered to the FGR were five properties, including a residence in Lomas de Bezares in Mexico City and an apartment in Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, which according to the investigations were acquired with the alleged bribes he received from both companies.
The dates on which he acquired those properties are not public. In fact, in his last patrimonial declaration of 2016, the former director of Pemex reserved that information.
Upon his arrival at Pemex in 2013, Lozoya reported monthly income of more than 722,000 pesos. According to his initial patrimonial declaration, he had a house valued at more than 38 million pesos. He added that he had more than $1.4 million worth of jewelry and artwork, plus bank accounts worth $250,000 and 1.6 million euros. 
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Original source in Spanish

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