MEXICO CITY, Aug. 23 (UPI) — Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, first lady Angelica Rivera and Finance Secretary Jose Luis Videgaray have been cleared of wrongdoing in a luxury-home buying scandal.
An investigation by Mexico’s Public Function secretariat found no conflict-of-interest perpetrated by Peña Nieto or Videgaray over awarding contracts to companies that sold homes to them and first lady Rivera, according to federal comptroller Virgilio Andrade.
“There was no conflict of interest,” Andrade told reporters on Friday during a two-and-a-half hour press conference. “Independently of what public opinion has established, this is the legal dimension of the case.”
Andrade cleared Peña Nieto, stating it is not his role to make decisions as president over government contracts. The scandal generated mass criticism of Peña Nieto’s government, accused of nepotism and corruption.
The investigation concluded that neither Peña Nieto nor Videgaray had a role in helping the Grupo Higa holding company and its subsidiaries obtain 22 federal government contracts worth about $76 million. Andrade also concluded they received no benefits from Grupo Higa’s contractual success.
The scandal traces back to an investigation published last year that revealed that Peña Nieto and his family owned a $7 million home built by a subsidiary of Grupo Higa.
Peña Nieto and his government associates denied any wrongdoing, and first lady Rivera, a famous telenovela star, consistently asserted that her career in entertainment allowed her family to buy the home.
Andrade said the investigation confirmed that all payments related to the property deals came from Rivera’s personal bank account.
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