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Mexican government denies conflict of interest in case of First Lady's property

Xinhua, August 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

There was no conflict of interest in the so-called "White House" case involving property of First Lady Angelica Rivera, the Mexican government announced Friday through it's Civil Service Ministry (SFP).

Head of the SFP Virgilio Andrade told news media that, after concluding an investigation into the case, it has been determined that "there was no conflict of interest" in the buying and selling of the property concerned.

"It has been shown that no civil servant participated in the procurement stage and for that reason there was no benefit attached to the contracts," said Andrade.

The property was acquired in January 2012, a long time before incumbent Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was a civil servant and on top of that, the whole operation was carried out by his wife.

The investigation also included the acquisition of another property by Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray in Malinalco and another one in Ixtapan de la Sal (both in the central State of Mexico). This second property was acquired from the company Grupo Higa among other companies.

"It has been determined that there was no conflict of interest, and that neither Pena Nieto nor Doctor Videgaray committed a biased act related to the power they have and neither one of them participated in the contracts," said the SFP.

In late 2014, a journalist's report uncovered the case while assuring that Pena Nieto's wife bought the house, a luxury mansion located in Mexico City, from Grupo Higa.

Grupo Higa reportedly obtained many contracts in return when Pena Nieto was the governor of the State of Mexico from 2005 to 2011.

In the light of this scandal, Pena Nieto appointed Andrade as the new minister for the Civil Service on Feb. 3, 2015. Andrade was specifically assigned by Pena Nieto to investigate into the acquisition of these three properties.

Andrade's appointment has generated mistrust as he is a member of the federal government.

Faced with the doubt, the minister argued that "it is my duty to act based on the legality and the elements that I have at my disposal," adding that the ministry has an obligation to get to the bottom of the case.

In the case of the First Lady, "a total of 33 cheques were verified" which were used as a deposit for the "White House" transaction and also 111 civil servants who participated in assigning the contracts were interviewed. The conclusion was that the civil servants were not influenced or obliged by anyone to favor any particular company. Endi