Eight Officials Implicated in Mexican Lottery Corruption Scandal Punished EFE
go to original August 29, 2012

Customers buy and fill lottery tickets in a store. Eight officials implicated in a corruption scandal involving a lottery agency have been punished. (EFE)

MEXICO CITY - Eight officials implicated in a corruption scandal involving a lottery agency have been punished, with four of them being slapped with fines totaling 182 million pesos (about $13.7 million) and a ban on holding public office for 20 years, the Mexican Public Administration Secretariat said.

The officials worked for Pronosticos para la Asistencia Publica, a public company organized to run the Melate and Revancha lotteries.

The officials were punished for trying to "defraud this institution," the secretariat said.

An investigation conducted by the secretariat found that a private company hired to videotape the lottery drawings and broadcast them live pre-recorded a drawing ahead of time with the complicity of the officials.

The individuals involved in the scheme then used the "winning" numbers to buy lottery tickets that would pay out at three vendors in Mexico City.

The group inserted the pre-recorded lottery segment into drawing 2518 on Jan. 22, 2012, the secretariat said.

The rigged drawing was shown on the screens in the studio so the Government Secretariat official assigned to monitor the lotteries and members of the public would be fooled, the secretariat said.

The individuals "involved cashed in lottery prizes totaling 110 million pesos (about $8.3 million)," but investigators were able to seize the bank accounts into which the funds were deposited, the secretariat said.

The public officials and others involved in the case still face criminal prosecution, the secretariat said.

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