Mexico: Manuel C. Mouriño's "money laundering" hidden by Federal Justice Department

By Bilhá Calderón

México City Oct 29th- The General Justice Department (PGR), in an unusual action, granted a right of appeal to impede a federal autonomous institution dedicated to Information accessibility and transparency (IFAI- Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información) from obtaining documents sent by the Spanish Government concerning an inquiry upon Manuel Carlos Mouriño Atanes’ alledged participation in managing illegal funded resources (money laundering).

Manuel Carlos Mouriño Atanes, is Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazas, the Mexican Secretary of State’s father.

Adrián Franco Zebada, Director of the International Affairs and Attaché Office of the General Justice juridical attorney Department (PGR), managed to obtain the right of appeal from a Federal judge, having her stop the documents from being delivered to the IFAI intitute. The federal judge claims she only wanted to check the documents to determine weather they should be kept in secret or made public. Although she is not legally authorized to do such thing.

The Mexican Federal Transparency and Information Accessibility Law indicates the Federal Government institutions must provide the INFAI- investigation institute- all the information that may be requested by the autonomous institute, to verify, at the very least if that information should be published for public knowledge.

The General Justice Department’s decision to hide this information against federal law, has been considered apalling by the IFAI intitute’s Director, Alonso Lujambio, who accused the Justice Department of “quibbling” the federal transparency law using an state protection.

Alonso Lujambio said “It is appalling [intercepting the documents] because the law is very clear when it says the IFAI institute are entitled to have unrestricted access to that documentation in order to enable the institute to emit a judgement”

This is the first time that something of a kind happens, Juan Pablo Guerrero an IFAI commissioner explained. It is the first time the General Justice Department submits a request for a right of appeal trial to prevent the Transparency Institution to even analyze the information on documents, even if that only wouldn’t make them automatically publishable.

According to the Mexican governmental structure, the General justice Department is under the direct orders of the Secretary of State, in this case: Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazo.

“This is the first time something of a kind happens. And when does it happen? Exactly when the documents that are about to be analyzed target a certain man that goes by the name of Manuel Carlos Mouriño Atanes. Just when this man is being investigated for money laundering” said Guerrero.

The commisionaers at the IFAI instute showed a profound discontent towards the General justice department and the Federal Judge María Guadalupe Rivera González who allowed the interception.

Guerrero originally planned to demand the General Justice Department (PGR) to make the information on Manuel Mouriño public. However, due to the controversy and because he was unable to see the documentation for himself, he has no elements to judge weather the information contained in those papers should be published.

The irregularities in this case, is one of the many “document issues’ that link the Secretary of State Juan Camilo Mouriño and his family to illegal actions. Camilo Mourino has been denounced several times of corruption for granting contracts to his family’s company while being in office. The documentation proving his nationality was also a major scandal when he was appointed Secretary of State, since he was unable to explain why he had multiple passports and a Spanish birth certificate.