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Former director of Pemex transferred to Madrid prison, considered a flight risk

Madrid, Spain — Emilio Lozoya, the former director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), was transferred to the Madrid IV prison in Navalcarnero Monday for administrative purposes after a judge sentenced him to preventative detention in Malaga after ruling him a flight risk.

On February 13, the judge of the National Court, Ismael Moreno, declared the former Pemex director a flight risk and ordered him in preventative custody while the investigation into his case continues.

Lozoya was arrested a day earlier in Malaga on an International Detention Order issued by Mexican authorities who were looking for him for the crime of operations with resources of illicit origin. He is being investigated in Mexico for allegedly receiving $10 million USD fraudulently from construction company Odebrecht, implicated in multiple cases of corruption in the Americas.

He is also being investigated for authorizing the purchase of Agronitrogen and for 51 percent share purchases in Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) steel mill, which generated millions in losses to the oil company.

He is charged with organized crime, bribery and operations with resources of illicit origin which resulted in Mexican authorities issuing a search and capture order through Interpol.

The owner of AHMSA, Alonso Ancira, was arrested in Spain last year, but was granted bail by a judge.

Lozoya was the general director of Pemex between 2012 and 2016. Mexican authorities began an international search for him after escaping in May 2019, when his name appeared as allegedly responsible for a network of corrupt activities carried out during 2012 and 2013, when he served as director of Pemex. He was arrested on February 12 in Marbella.