According to national prosecutor’s office, Emilio Lozoya, the ex-Pemex chief from 2012 to 2016 and a top adviser to the former president, Enrique Pena Nieto, is wanted in the case along with his wife, sister and mother.
Former Pemex chief Emilio Lozoya, shown in this August 17, 2017 photo, is accused of taking bribes from Odebrecht starting from when he was a top aide to Enrique Pena Nieto's presidential campaign (Photo: AFP)
Mexico has issued an arrest warrant for the former chief executive of state oil company Pemex on corruption charges linked to the massive scandal involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, Mexican prosecutors said on Friday.
According to national prosecutor’s office, Emilio Lozoya, the ex-Pemex chief from 2012 to 2016 and a top adviser to the former president, Enrique Pena Nieto, is wanted in the case along with his wife, sister and mother.
“An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for all these individuals in relation to likely crimes committed in the (Odebrecht) case and involving Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex),” an officials said in a statement.
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“The investigation into the Mexican strand of the Odebrecht case had been reprehensibly frozen for a very long time”, it added.
The scandal has felled ex-presidents and top officials in countries including Brazil, Peru and Colombia, but there have been no arrests or prosecutions so far in Mexico.
Lozoya allegedly took more than $10 million in bribes from Odebrecht starting in March 2012, when he was the chief international strategist for then-candidate Pena Nieto’s presidential campaign.
He is also wanted in another corruption case, on money laundering charges linked to the allegedly dodgy sale of a defunct fertilizer company to Pemex for nearly half a billion dollars in 2014.
His whereabouts are unclear, but his lawyer has confirmed that Lozoya was seen in Mexico, according to new arrest warrant.
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