Mexican President's Office Denies He Granted Favors to Developer Eric Martin and Brendan Case - Bloomberg News
go to original January 21, 2015

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (Russavia)

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s office denied he granted special favors to a developer who sold him a house in a resort town when he was a state governor in 2005.

Pena Nieto acquired the house in Ixtapan de la Sal legally and had reported it as part of his asset disclosure statement, according to a press release today. Pena Nieto isn’t involved in the awarding of public contracts, the president’s office said.

Pena Nieto, 48, bought the weekend home in an exclusive golf club from Roberto San Roman weeks after taking office as governor of the State of Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing documents. A presidential spokesman told the paper it was bought at market prices for $372,000. A construction firm started by San Roman has since won $150 million of business from the state and federal government, including at least six no-bid contracts, the newspaper said.

Before Pena Nieto became president, the company had never won a contract directly from the federal government, the newspaper said.

The San Roman family didn’t respond to requests for comment, the Wall Street Journal reported. San Roman died in 2010 and his son took over the business, the newspaper said.

Pena Nieto’s administration has been under fire since November, when news website Aristegui Noticias reported that a unit of Grupo Higa, another contractor that won business during Pena Nieto’s state and federal administrations, built and holds the title of a home for his wife. First lady Angelica Rivera has said she will sell her rights to that house. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Finance Minister Luis Videgaray bought a home from another Grupo Higa unit. Videgaray has denied any conflict of interest.

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