Mexican President apologizes for wife's purchase of luxury house

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto has made an usual apology in the so-called White House scandal in which his wife bought a luxury villa from a government contractor.

He voiced the apology on Monday at the National Palace in Mexico City while debuting a new package of anti-corruption laws.

Admitting he "made a mistake" in the deal exposed by media reports in late 2014, Pena Nieto said "this error affected my family, hurt the presidential office and hurt confidence in the government."

"For this reason, with all humility I ask your forgiveness," he said.

The president's wife Angelica Rivera, a former TV star, purchased a white-colored luxury villa worth seven million U.S. dollars from a government contractor Grupo Higa, a company owned by Juan Armando Hinojosa, who is reportedly Pena Nieto's personal friend.

At the occasion to unveil the Latin American country's strongest measure fighting corruption at all levels of government, Pena Nieto expressed a "profound and sincere apology for the offense and indignation" the scandal caused.

The first-lady Rivera explained in a YouTube video that she bought the villa with all earnings from her career as an actress.

Her explanation failed to quell public anger. The president ordered a government-sponsored investigation into the purchase.

The investigation later found no conflict of interest in the purchase but some reports questioned the appointee of the head to lead the probe, saying he was personally chosen by Pena Nieto.

The official leading the probe, Virgilio Andrade, resigned on Monday because of the new body anti-corruption laws, which puts oversight in the hands of a citizens committee.

The package of seven laws signed by the president on Monday demands that public servants declare their tax-paying information, their wealth and any potential conflicts of interest.

Pena Nieto's mandate is due to end in 2018. Endit