There was no conflict of interest because neither Pena Nieto nor Finance Minister Luis Videgaray were involved in awarding contracts, and because they bought the homes before they became federal officials, comptroller Virgilio Andrade told reporters in Mexico City on Friday.
Neither official “showed partiality relating to their legal powers or participated in any form in the federal government’s awarding of contracts,” Andrade said. “The obligation in relation to conflicts of interest refers to active public servants and not private individuals.”
The investigation also found no wrongdoing by first lady Angelica Rivera, whose purchase of a Mexico City home from Grupo Higa sparked the original national scrutiny of public officials’ houses.
Rivera made consistent payments toward the home purchase and in December returned the rights to the home to Higa, Andrade said.
Rivera in November made public her mortgage contract after it was reported by website Aristegui Noticias. The findings bring to a close a six-month investigation by Andrade, who said documents from the probe will be made public.
Andrade’s independence was questioned by Pena Nieto’s opponents and transparency advocates because the comptroller legally reports to the president. Moreover, Andrade has known Videgaray for almost three decades, the comptroller said in February.
The connections didn’t represent a conflict of interest, he told reporters at the start of the investigation.
Pena Nieto said in January that he acquired a house on a golf course in the State of Mexico from the owner of Constructora Urbanizadora Ixtapan, or CUISA, in 2005. The admission came after the purchase was reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Also responding to a Wall Street Journal report, Videgaray in December said that he purchased a home from a unit of Grupo Higa in 2012 and paid off the loan. Videgaray gave the homebuilder art as one form of payment for the home, Andrade said Friday.
bloomberg.com
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