US jails former Mexican state governor for money laundering

A former state governor of Mexico, on Thursday, was sentenced to nine years in jail by a United State court for accepting bribes and laundering that money within the US by buying luxury properties.

The 66-year-old Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba was a former candidate to become the president of Mexico in 2005.

Before that, he was the governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico between 1999 to 2005.

What we know about the case

US Attorney Alamdar S Hamdani, in a press release by the US justice department, said that the politician has accepted more than $3.5 million (€3.3 million) in illegal bribe money from individuals and private companies to do business with the state of Tamaulipas.

He then used said money to fraudulently purchase beachfront condominiums, large estates, commercial developments, airplanes, and luxury vehicles in America.

"Even if you are governor of a Mexican state, we will not stand idly by when you use your position to wrongfully fill your pockets and violate the laws of the United States," said Hamdani. "Today's prison sentence for Yarrington concludes a multi-year, multi-agency international investigation spanning two continents concluding in bringing a corrupt politician to justice."

US District Judge Yarrington noted that the politician had violated his oath of office, weakening the country of Mexico and promoting criminal activity.

Being a Mexican citizen, Yarrington will likely be deported after serving his sentence in prison.

In April 2017, Yarrington was arrested in Italy at the request of US and Mexican authorities while he was traveling under a fake passport. While he initially contested extradition, Italian authorities eventually approved his transfer to the US where he arrived in 2018. He pled guilty to his crimes in March 2021.

Tamaulipas borders the Gulf of Mexico and includes several major Mexican border cities, such as Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. They are known as a hub for criminal groups including the Gulf Cartel.

Earlier this month, four US citizens were kidnapped in Matamoros after crossing the border. Two of them were found dead while the other two were released. Members of the Gulf Cartel were linked to the incident but the organization said they acted alone.

mk/rc (AFP)