Mexican judge orders the arrest of Ex-Pemex CEO, Emilio Lozoya

A Mexican judge on Wednesday ordered the immediate incarceration of high-profile Mexican businessman Emilio Lozoya Austin who was recently implicated in the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

The judge’s decision follows a July 2020 request from the Attorney General's Office (FGR), to place former Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) CEO into pre-trial detention after he was extradited to Mexico from Spain. 

Lozoya, who was initially charged with corruption and taking millions of dollars in bribes, initially avoided prison by offering to cooperate with authorities as a prosecutorial witness. The former oil magnate reportedly told authorities Enrique Pena Nieto ordered him to send bribes from Odebrecht, a major Brazilian construction company to the former president’s campaign. 

He also previously testified that bribes were paid to secure legislator’s votes in favor of new energy reform laws, an allegation former officials have denied.  

But Lozoya’s protected status as a key government witness was compromised Wednesday when prosecutors told the court they now considered their star witness was now considered a flight risk. As a result, the judge ordered his incarceration and he was remanded to a Mexican correctional facility. 

Lozoya's lawyer, Miguel Ontiveros Alonso said he would file an appeal opposing preventive detention in hopes of helping his client regain his freedom.  

“Our defense clearly stated that Mr. Emilio Lozoya Austin has not only cooperated, but also maintains full cooperation with the Attorney General's Office,” his attorney said in a Wednesday press conference.

The defense attorney asserted the judge only took the prosecution’s position into consideration without  giving even-handed consideration to the defense. Ontiveros said his client is handling the situation well:

"Mr. Emilio Lozoya and his family are calm. He knows we are fully cooperating with the authorities of the Mexican State, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Judiciary [to fulfill] President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's intentions of preventing corruption," he concluded.

Many have anticipated that Lozoya, now the highest-profile Mexican politician implicated in the Odebrecht corruption scandal will offer damaging testimony against the former president. 

The former official is accused of fraud, bribery and money laundering by the new administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Among the accusations against him is receiving at least $9.1 million USD in bribes paid by Odebrecht to guarantee contracts once he was appointed director of the public oil company.

During a hearing that lasted more than five hours, the Attorney General's Office mentioned that Lozoya took advantage of his request for opportunity criteria to “delay and hinder the process against him,” and reminded the judge of photographs taken in July in which the former Pemex official was spotted enjoying dinner out at a prominent Mexico City restaurant.

El exdirector de Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, sigue su proceso por el delito de operaciones con recursos de procedencia ilícita en libertad y fue visto hace unas semanas disfrutando de una cena en el restaurante chino Hunan de Paseo de la Reformahttps://t.co/HyXZQ66XNU pic.twitter.com/idwh1i78Cf

— SinEmbargo (@SinEmbargoMX) October 31, 2021

"The  [photos demonstrate] an absolute lack of respect and a provocation to the authorities,” the prosecutor said. “They… send a message there are [class distinctive levels] of justice. It is not acceptable," the prosecutor said, according to Animal Político.

In his petition, the prosecutor argued that the precautionary measure accepted in July 2020 was conditional based on “certain circumstances,” which to date have not been fulfilled.