Former head of public security in Mexico must pay more than $748 million to his country of origin for his alleged involvement in government corruption, according to a Florida court order.
The Mexican government’s civil case was first filed in September 2021 when the court’s decision came to an end on Thursday.
Genaro Garcia Luna, who was Mexico’s security chief from 2006 to 2012, was the subject of the case. Garcia Luna, who allegedly accepted millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel, is currently serving more than 38 years in prison in the United States.
The Mexican government alleges that Garcia Luna also allegedly snatched millions of dollars from the taxpayer, and it has made a pledge to recoup the loss by pleading guilty in Miami, Florida, where some of the illegal activity is said to have occurred.
Garcia Luna’s wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, was ordered to pay $1.7 billion on Thursday by Judge Lisa Walsh in Miami-Dade County, along with other payments. The total was roughly $2.4 billion.
The Mexican government accused Garcia Luna, his wife, and their co-defendants of having “concealed funds stolen from the government” and smuggling the money to countries like Barbados and the US in its initial complaint from 2021.
The defendant GARCIA LUNA used the funds improperly taken from the MEXICAN government to create a money-laundering empire, according to the complaint.
It claimed that Garcia Luna and his associates used those funds to finance “lavish lifestyles,” including Mustangs from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as real estate holdings and bank accounts.
Garcia Luna was also charged with corruption in a separate case, with US authorities alleging that he pocketed millions of dollars while serving as president because he helped organize the Sinaloa cartel.
According to US prosecutors, Garcia Luna allegedly obtained information through his work with the Mexican federal police and as its security chief that he later used to inform them of investigations and the movements of rival criminal organizations.
Garcia Luna was also accused of aiding the cartel in moving its cocaine shipments to countries like the US, occasionally employing federal police in Mexico as bodyguards, and even allowing cartel members to wear official uniforms.
In exchange, the cartel is accused of leaving money for him in a variety of hiding places, including a French restaurant close to the US embassy in Mexico City. Some $100 bill bundles totaled up to $10,000.
Garcia Luna relocated to the US after leaving the company in 2012. He has entered a not-guilty plea to the charges against him. His attorneys have characterized him as a prosperous businessman who lives in Florida.
Garcia Luna was found guilty in February 2023 of drug-related charges, including conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to sell it overseas. He was given a decade-long prison sentence in October of that year.
However, the Mexican government claimed in its civil lawsuit that Garcia Luna also spearheaded a “government-contracting scheme” that included phony bid-tampering and dishonest financial transactions.
Deals were also made regarding surveillance and communication equipment. According to a report from the Associated Press, some of these contracts were inflated and falsified.
Source: Aljazeera
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