AMLO’s government accuses Genaro Garcia Luna of stealing US$745 million from contracts

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Mexican authorities said on Thursday, February 9th, that former top security official Genaro Garcia Luna embezzled as much as $745.9 million from government technology contracts.

Pablo Gómez, the head of Mexico’s anti-money laundering unit, said Garcia Luna and associates set up companies that got 30 dubious government contracts while he was Mexico’s top security official in 2006-2012 and for six years afterward.

Garcia Luna “put together a network of corruption and money laundering to benefit himself and his close associates,” Gómez said.

Gómez described some of the properties the Mexican government is seeking to recover in a lawsuit filed in Florida against Garcia Luna and his alleged associates, who he described as a “family business conglomerate.” Garcia Luna moved to Florida after leaving office in Mexico.

García Luna is currently on trial in New York, accused of accepting millions of dollars to let the Sinaloa cartel traffic tons of cocaine to the U.S.. The lawsuit is separate from the criminal trial.

Garcia Luna allegedly channeled money from prison security and government intelligence technology contracts to offshore accounts, many in Barbados, then sent it to Miami to buy fancy condos and vintage cars.

Gómez suggested Garcia Luna and his associates had a penchant for vintage Mustangs from the 1960s and ’70s, saying they had bought several of them. He said they also bought luxury sports cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

Gómez said the Florida lawsuit was filed in September 2021.

Source: Expansion

The Mazatlan Post