HomeNewsBriefNew Embezzlement Allegations Against Fugitive Fmr Mexico Governor
BRIEF

New Embezzlement Allegations Against Fugitive Fmr Mexico Governor

ELITES AND CRIME / 30 NOV 2016 BY CAMILLA HARRISON-ALLEN EN

New details have surfaced relating to the alleged embezzlement of fugitive former Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte, highlighting a lack of institutional capacity to prevent and punish corrupt politicians in Mexico.

After investigations of Duarte for suspected corruption, the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República - PGR) recovered 421 million pesos (more than $20 million at current exchange rates) that had allegedly been siphoned off from the Veracruz treasury by two ghost companies.

The head of the federal auditing agency, Juan Manuel Portal, revealed earlier this month that there are 54 allegations against Duarte, El País reported. The alleged amount of public money embezzled from Veracruz by Duarte -- some 35 billion pesos, or about $1.7 billion -- is the highest ever registered by Portal’s agency, the Superior Auditor of the Federation (Auditoría Superior de la Federación - ASF).

The Superior Audit Body (Órgano de Fiscalización Superior - ORFIS) of Veracruz documented a financial loss to the treasury of more than 16 billion pesos (about $830 million) in 2015. Five departments, 15 public bodies and six trusts had irregularities in their expenditures, according to El País.

Duarte has been on the run since he resigned from his post as governor of Veracruz on October 12 after a string of allegations against him regarding theft of public money during his six years in office. Duarte also allgedly had links to drug cartels and to the murder of a journalist in Veracruz last year.

In a recent survey, a staggering 42 percent of Mexican citizens saw the federal government as having the highest level of corruption out of all branches of government. However, when asked about recent cases of corruption, 14 percent of participants mentioned Duarte's alleged state-level graft.

InSight Crime Analysis

The new allegations against Duarte underscore the systematic problem of corruption among political figures in Mexico and show a lack of institutional capacity to prevent and punish corrupt politicians.

The Mexican government has long struggled to tackle corruption among the political class. Few politicians accused of corruption ever face justice for their alleged crimes, implying an inability or unwillingness on the part of Mexican authorities to bring justice to corrupt members of the political elite and suggesting that these powerful figures may sometimes be protected by other actors in the political realm. This notion is reinforced by allegations that Duarte fled Mexico on October 15 in a helicopter provided by the current interim Gov. Flavino Ríos.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

According to El País, acting Attorney General Raúl Cervantes said the government is continuing to combat corruption. However, the scale of alleged corruption under Duarte’s administration -- and the challenges authorities have faced in bringing him to justice -- suggest the government is far from eradicating this problem.
share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 1 DEC 2021

As day broke in Guatemala City on August 31, 2016, a judge named Carlos Ruano anxiously awaited a meeting with one of Guatemala’s most powerful…

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME / 21 NOV 2022

Wildlife traffickers in Mexico are taking advantage of the social media marketplace, placing some of Mexico’s endangered species in peril.

FENTANYL / 22 OCT 2021

Fentanyl continues to wreak havoc on both sides of the US-Mexico border, as Mexican security forces continue to seize the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…