Chile’s Supreme Court has rejected a request to extradite former PT deputy Mauricio Toledo Gutierrez to Mexico, who is accused of alleged illicit enrichment.
The court reported that the ruling, announced on Friday, was divided, after establishing the inadmissibility of the extradition of the also former mayor of Coyoacán, who is a Chilean-Mexican citizen, by not complying with the principle of minimum gravity of the crime.
He said that in Chile illicit enrichment is punishable by a fine and not by one year of imprisonment, as established by the treaty on the subject signed between the two countries.
“That in this regard it should be taken into account that it constitutes a general principle of international law, that extradition only proceeds for serious crimes, and those whose penalty does not exceed one year of deprivation of liberty would not be such, which would therefore be of little harm,” the ruling states.
It adds that Article 1 of the Extradition Treaty that governs between Chile and Mexico establishes that “it will be applicable only when the deprivation of liberty of the required crime does not exceed one year.”
The prosecutor of Mexico City, Ernestina Godoy, has indicated that Toledo is being investigated for the crime of illicit enrichment, after “an unjustified and inexplicable increase in his assets was detected, which is incongruous with his reported income.”
Read: Interpol issues red card for Mauricio Toledo; deputy says he will continue in Chile
On September 4, 2020, the Prosecutor for the Investigation of Crimes Committed by Public Servants initiated an investigation folder against the former head of the delegation in Coyoacán, in which it was proven that the accused person has real estate, whose value exceeds the income legally manifested as a public servant.
The investigation, prosecutor Ernestina Godoy said in January 2021, includes the analysis of the patrimonial declarations presented by Toledo Gutiérrez from 2006 to date; registry and notarial information of various properties given by the Public Registry of Property and Commerce.
Also, various expert opinions that determine the market value on the date of acquisition of various properties; accounting opinions and information provided by the National Banking Commission on the financial statements of the deputy.
On August 11, 2021, the Chamber of Deputies approved the removal of Mauricio Toledo’s immunity; a day later it was reported that the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City would request the red card to arrest Mauricio Toledo.
What we do at Animal Político requires professional journalists, teamwork, dialogue with readers and something very important: independence. You can help us keep going. Be part of the team.
Subscribe to Animal Político, receive benefits and support free journalism.#YoSoyAnimal
