MEXICO CITY — MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s anti-money laundering workplace has frozen the financial institution accounts of the Mexican co-owner of Miss Universe as a part of an investigation into medication, gasoline and arms trafficking, an official stated Friday.
The nation’s Monetary Intelligence Unit, which oversees the struggle in opposition to cash laundering, froze Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú’s financial institution accounts in Mexico, a federal official instructed The Related Press on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not licensed to touch upon the investigation.
The motion in opposition to Rocha Cantú provides to mounting controversies for the Miss Universe group. Final week, a courtroom in Thailand issued an arrest warrant for the Thai co-owner of the Miss Universe Group in reference to a fraud case and this yr’s competitors — received by Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch — confronted allegations of rigging.
The Miss Universe group didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail from The Related Press searching for remark in regards to the allegations in opposition to Rocha Cantú.
Mexico’s federal prosecutors stated final week that Rocha Cantú has been beneath investigation since November 2024 for alleged organized crime exercise, together with drug and arms trafficking, in addition to gasoline theft. Final month, a federal decide issued 13 arrest warrants for a few of these concerned within the case, together with the Mexican businessman, whose firm Legacy Holding Group USA owns 50% of the Miss Universe shares.
The group’s different 50% belongs to JKN International Group Public Co. Ltd., an organization owned by Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip.
A Thai courtroom final week issued an arrest warrant for Jakrajutatip who was launched on bail in 2023 on the fraud case. She failed to look as required in a Bangkok courtroom on Nov. 25. Since she didn’t notify the courtroom about her absence, she was deemed to be a flight threat, in keeping with a press release from the Bangkok South District Court docket.
The courtroom rescheduled her listening to for Dec. 26.
Rocha Cantú was additionally a component proprietor of the On line casino Royale within the northern Mexican metropolis of Monterrey, when it was attacked in 2011 by a gaggle of gunmen who entered it, doused gasoline and set it on fireplace, killing 52 individuals.
Baltazar Saucedo Estrada, who was charged with planning the assault, was sentenced in July to 135 years in jail.
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