Officials obtained $ 35,000 from a plane carrying guests to the Santiago Nieto wedding in Guatemala.
The head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) in Mexico, which oversees the fight against money laundering, has resigned following a scandal surrounding his marriage in Guatemala.
Santiago Nieto, known as a close ally of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during his anti-corruption campaign, resigned on Monday.
This came as Guatemalan officials seized $ 35,000 from a private jet carrying celebrities from a wedding to Nieto and Carla Humphrey, a consultant for the National Electoral Institute (INE), in Antigua, Mexico.
The guest of honor Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, President of the prestigious Mexican newspaper El Universal, had carried the money. An article in a newspaper Monday said the money was medical and had been properly announced to Mexican authorities.
However the nature of the situation – private jets, high-end foreign weddings and financial portfolios – was devastating, Lopez Obrador said after agreeing to resign.
“It’s a shameful story, even if it is a secret … Mexican government issues are on the rise and more is known about privacy,” said Lopez Obrador.
The president was elected in 2018 in a campaign against corruption in the country but it has not rebuke for focusing more on his organization than overcoming the many problems the world is facing.
From the time he was in office, Lopez Obrador developed a habit of working hard, often flying commercially, trying to sell a presidential plane, and refusing to stay in the former president’s house.
Paola Felix, Mexico City Tourism Secretary, also had a wedding drama.
He also quit his job following media reports that he was detained at a airport in Guatemala, saying he was going to the wedding, for the sake of carrying more money in the country. He denied the wrongdoing.
Long-time progressive politician Pablo Gomez is set to take Nieto’s place.
