Chihuahua— A penalty of between 4 and 12 years in prison faces Arturo FV, former Secretary of Finance in the administration of Javier Corral Jurado, after a Control judge released an arrest warrant against him for his alleged participation in the diversion of 98 million 600 thousand pesos through the irregular contracting of financial advisory services to carry out the long-term debt restructuring, between 2019 and 2020.
At a press conference, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, Abelardo Valenzuela Holguín, announced that said arrest warrant stems from a complaint filed by the Superior State Audit Office (ASE) in January of this year, in which the results of an audit are exhibited. forensic analysis carried out on the Public Account 2021.
From said review of the supervisory body, it can be deduced that the defendant, acting as a representative of the State Government, in his capacity as settlor within the Irrevocable Master Trust for Administration and Source of Payment, number 851-01869, carried out various interrelated acts, carried out carried out with the intention of giving the appearance of legality, which constitute the means of commission to make a series of illegal payments charged to public funds that he was in charge of.
From there, he distracted from the treasury, without being authorized to do so, two payments for the amounts of 49 million 300 thousand pesos each, made on December 3, 2019 and August 5, 2020, in favor of the office “López-Elías Finanzas Public”.
The ASE, in its report, indicated that said firm was not registered in the list of providers of the State Government, during the five-year period of Javier Corral; There were also violations of all the procedures for awarding said contract, among them: lack of budget sufficiency, the exception opinion and procedure that accredits the need to contract the services of that firm, failure to deliver a guarantee of compliance, as well like market research.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor explained that, although the possible commission of the crime of illegal use of powers and powers emerged from the initial accusation made by the ASE, during the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry elements were found to presume the existence of the crime of aggravated embezzlement , which has a much more severe penalty.
In this vein, Abelardo Valenzuela explained that article 270 of the State Penal Code establishes that imprisonment of 4 to 12 years and a fine of 500 to 2 thousand days will be imposed on the public servant who disposes of or distracts from his object, money, securities, real estate or anything else, if received by reason of his position, in the same way when the amount or value exceeds 500 times the daily value of the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA).
Given the evidence collected and the risk that the defendant could evade the action of justice, last January, the Public Ministry requested the arrest warrant from the judge, which was granted.
However, Arturo FV processed an amparo before the federal courts, in which, when granted, he was ordered to appear before the local courts in the next three business days from yesterday.
Verbatim, Valenzuela Holguín said: “In observance of due process, our Magna Carta and in particular article 16 of the Constitution, a robust folder was integrated with all the legal technical elements of the probable commission of an aggravated crime, and based on the public charge held by the defendant today, the public nature and amount of the distracted economic resource, as well as the mechanics of how the events unfolded, coupled with the former public servant’s ease of entering and leaving the country, since in addition, he not only has the financial means to do so, but also that he has a domicile abroad.
“Last and not least, the defendant (Arturo FV) has not faced his responsibility to be accountable to the authority, is that this Prosecutor’s Office requested the arrest warrant, supporting it and at all times the need for the precaution contemplated in the article 141 of the National Code of Criminal Procedures”, he pointed out.
The Deputy Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Gabriel Ruiz Gámez, as well as the director of the Investigation Police of said Prosecutor’s Office, Ramón Domínguez Perea, were at the press conference.
Former Treasury Secretary Arturo FV maintained through his social media account that he tried to contribute elements to both the Superior State Audit Office and the prosecutors, both the General and the Anti-Corruption, but that he was never allowed.
Through said publication, he categorically denied that an undue payment had been made to the firm in question, since the work carried out in thousands of documents and electronic communications was fully accredited and supported.
