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Emilio Lozoya, former director of the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), has been detained in Malaga after taking fugitive months of justice and having an international arrest warrant against him, reported the Attorney General's Office (FGR). This senior official is involved in the Odebrecht case.

Lozoya was unaccounted for after the Attorney General's Office accused him of having received bribes from the Brazilian firm Odebrecht and of participating in the irregular sale of a fertilizer plant.

Speaking to Radio Formula, the head of the Mexican prosecutor's office, Alejandro Gertz, explained that the arrest had been achieved after a "long pilgrimage throughout Europe" and has valued the "fundamental" support of Interpol and the Spanish Police , who has finally stopped him. Gertz has specified that the arrest warrant is for extradition purposes.

Finally, he said that the Lozoya case was "iconic" because this capture has been achieved after an almost one-year investigation by different countries in Europe .

Meanwhile, in statements to Milenio Televisión, Javier Coello, lawyer for Emilio Lozoya, stressed that, after confirming the arrest, it is now appropriate to travel to Spain and support his client.

"We have all the evidence to defend it," he said. The lawyer points out that he and Lozoya's family were unaware of the detention until the announcement of the FGR.

Lozoya was director of Pemex between 2012 and 2016 , during the Government of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018). Economist with vast international experience and a family member with deep ties to power in Mexico, fell out of favor because of his alleged involvement in Odebrecht's bribes.

With the arrival of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the Presidency in December 2018, the new FGR pushed an investigation against Lozoya, and a capture order was issued in May 2019.

In addition, last year he was disqualified for 10 years to hold a public office by the Ministry of Public Administration (SFP), a decision validated on February 6 by a court. And the accounts were also frozen.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Enrique Peña Nieto
  • Spain
  • Mexico

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