New Indictment Against Mexican Ex-oil Chief In Odebrecht Case

Mexico City, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jul, 2021 ) :A Mexican oil executive was indicted on fresh corruption charges linked to Brazilian conglomerate Oderbrecht, Federal investigators said Sunday, in an ongoing graft scandal that has seen former presidents implicated.

Emilio Lozoya faces charges of diverting public resources, including receiving bribes from the Brazilian firm, while he was director of state-owned oil company Pemex from 2012 to 2016.

Lozoya, a former top advisor to ex-president Enrique Pena Nieto, was arrested in Spain and extradited to Mexico last year.

He already stands accused of accepting millions of Dollars in bribes from the construction giant and has named several political figures including Nieto during his trial.

Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) said in a statement it had "identified a money-laundering scheme in Pemex from 2012 to 2016 through contracts awarded to 34 companies related to Odebrecht amounting to millions (of dollars).

" UIF located transfers for about $150 million presumed to have been allocated to electoral campaigns in different Mexican states.

The agency said Lozoya has been accused alongside 11 other people of "political corruption and diversion of public resources" by the Attorney General's office.

He already faces a trial for the use of resources of illicit origin, criminal association, and bribery.

Lozoya has not been in jail since arriving in Mexico.

He was first transferred to hospital and has subsequently been under house arrest after agreeing to cooperate with the prosecution.

Lozoya has alleged the Odebrecht bribes were funneled to Pena Nieto's presidential campaign but no charges have been filed against officials implicated during the trial.

So far, the former oil executive is the only high-ranking Mexican official facing charges in the Odebrecht bribery scandal, which has extended to several Latin American countries.