Officials Stole Millions from Mexico's Troubled Prison System: Report Tristan Clavel - InSight Crime
go to original November 2, 2016

More than $2 million were reportedly diverted from Mexico's 2014 federal penitentiary budget by officials who used the money to acquire luxurious vehicles and flights, highlighting how corruption contributes to the problems in Mexico's prison system.

Mexico's federal audit institution (Auditoría Superior de la Federación – ASF) suspects that at least 38.5 million pesos were diverted from the 2014 federal penitentiary budget, reported Animal Político, citing a September 2016 request from the agency asking the Attorney General's Office to open a criminal probe into the allegations.

The diverted funds - which currently amount to just over $2 million, but which were equivalent to more than $2.8 million based on the 2014 exchange rate - were stolen from the budget of the Administrative Body for Prevention and Social Rehabilitation (Órgano Administrativo Desconcentrado de Prevención y Readaptación Social - OADPRS), which is part of the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB).

Among the irregularities noted by the ASF was the acquisition of seven bulletproof pickup trucks for a total of 17 million pesos (roughly $885,000 at current exchange rates) without an established security justification. Three of these vehicles were initially not even received by the OADPRS, but were temporarily used by high-ranking officials of other SEGOB branches.

A flight service worth 1.5 million pesos (about $78,000) for SEGOB officials was also contracted with OADPRS funds due to "the urgency to transport high-ranking public servants to attend matters in federal prisons where ground transportation is complicated." But ASF points to the fact that the public contract was awarded without a bid process as required by law, and that another 20 million pesos (more than $1 million) were spent to acquire four flights for which no justification was provided.

Read the rest at InSight Crime

Image: GOB.mx

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