The Texas attorneys hired by Governor Miguel Angel Yunes Linares publicly filed in federal court a letter from the Legal Director of the Veracruz state government Interior Ministry, Armando Garcia Cedas, addressed to the state attorney general’s office dated June 21, 2018. The letter accused Jose Antonio Bandin Ruiz and his wife Monica Babayan of having laundered funds stolen by Javier Duarte into the United States through shell companies. Bandin and Babayan have denied all the claims (see below).
The letter did not specify any evidence of its claims. For example:
These facts are public, so I request that these events be investigated since the state’s economic resources have been affected by being utilized for aspects of purchasing various properties mainly in Texas, Florida, and New York in the United States of America.
In that country various properties have been found, pointing at C. C. José Bandin and/or José Bandin Ruiz, as well as Mónica Babayan.
These illegal acts have been made public in various media outlets as pointed out by journalist Claudia Guerrero Martínez, in her piece published on July 25, 2016.
The letter continues by reprinting, over the course of 3 pages, a newspaper article that makes a number of accusations against José Antonio Bandín Ruiz as well as Jaime Porres Fernández-Cavada and Moisés Mansur Cysneiros. The Interior Ministry itself does not make any other statements about Jaime Porres or Moises Mansur in its letter.
Jaime Porres Fernández-Cavada has denied any connection to the alleged Duarte prestanombre network and has never been publicly accused by Mexican prosecutors of any crimes linked to Duarte.
Jaime Porres Fernández-Cavada has been a business partner of Antonio and Alfredo Chedraui Obeso in five companies:
- SAMURAI MOTORS XALAPA, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.,
- SAMURAI MOTORS CIUDAD DE MEXICO, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.,
- ASESORIA ESPECIALIZADA DEL GOLFO, S.A. DE C.V.,
- DESARROLLADORA Y PROMOTORA SAMURAI, S.A. DE C.V., and
- VEHÍCULOS KOREANOS DE CÓRDOBA S.A. DE C.V.
Armando Garcias Cedas’s letter also requested the attorney general’s office “proceed with the investigations, since the undersigned will keep providing evidence that validates the denounced facts.” The end of the letter also includes a request that the prosecutors issue an arrest order and prosecute Bandin and Babayan after “the offending misconduct by the defendants is proven” through the attorney general office’s investigation.
The lawyers for Bandin and Babayan denied all the claims and argued that Veracruz was unable to provide any evidence of any crimes by Bandin and Babayan:
Plaintiff, the self-styled “Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave,” claims to have conducted “much investigative work” that revealed “a global conspiracy spanning several continents that was based in Houston and used to steal Veracruz’s wealth.” Dkt. No. 19 at 3. With such grandiose language, one must expect Plaintiff, with all the power and authority of a free and sovereign state available to it, to be to articulate in its pleading just how the Bandin Defendants are alleged to be connected to this grand conspiracy. But Plaintiff cannot; hence, dismissal is proper under Rule 12(b)(6).
One might further presume that Plaintiff, when called upon by Texas law to provide clear and specific evidence of each element of its claims, would be able to demonstrate with precision and proof just how the Bandin Defendants are alleged to have used money stolen from Plaintiff to acquire property in Texas. But, once again, Plaintiff offers no proof; dismissal under the TCPA is therefore also proper.
Documents
- Plaintiff’s Exhibit: June 21, 2018 Letter from Armando Garcia Cedas, Director of the Legal Department of the Interior Ministry of Veracruz, to Fernando Bastos Pulido, Prosecuting Attorney Of The Ministerial Investigations Department Of The Attorney General’s Office Of The State Of Veracruz
- July 9, 2018 Bandin Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss
ChedrauiLeaks.org has noticed that the media in Mexico contains very little information about the business dealings and personal assets in the United States of what could be termed Mexican elites, wealthy business people and politicians. ChedrauiLeaks is not stating that members of the Chedraui family or its businesses had any involvement with the alleged Duarte prestanombre network or with any of the events described in the lawsuit. ChedrauiLeaks is not stating that members of the Chedraui family or its business had any involvement with any of the individuals named above except Jaime Porres Fernández-Cavada.