Mexican authorities have frozen the bank accounts of Emilio Lozoya, the former head of PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned oil company.
The Financial Intelligence Unit said Monday that “there were various transactions with funds that presumably did not come from legal activities” and the funds “are presumed to have originated in acts of corruption.”
Lozoya headed Petroleos Mexicanos under former president Enrique Pena Nieto. Last week the government banned Lozoya from holding public positions for 10 years.
Lozoya has been mentioned, but not charged, in corruption scandals involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
Former Odebrecht officials have given evidence to Brazilian prosecutors that implicates Lozoya in the company’s bribery scandal. Lozoya has denied receiving bribes.
San Miguel Times Newsroom with information from AP