“Odebrecht paid Lozoya 10 million dollars”

Brazilian company Odebrecht paid 10 million dollars to former Chief Executive Director of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) , Emilio Lozoya Austin in exchange of the awarding of a construction project worth 115 million for a refinery in Tula, Hidalgo, according to documents obtained by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo .

Yesterday, the newspaper published the information detailing the former CEO of the South American company, Luis Alberto de Meneses Weyll, began to pay the Mexican official in March 2012.

Back then, Emilio Lozoya was a member of the campaign committee of then Presidential Candidate Enrique Peña Nieto .

The payments made by the company lasted until 2014 when Lozoya was the CEO of PEMEX.

According to De Meneses, the first payment to Lozoya was for 4 million dollars, made in early 2012.

Allegedly, the contract in question was PXR-OP-SILN-SPR-CPMAC-A-4-14 which the Management of Planning, Follow up and Control of Pemex Refinación (currently, Pemex Transformación Industrial) granted through direct awarding to construction company Norberto Odebrecht on February 15, 2014.

The contract considered site improvements, earthworks, and platform construction for the project of waste exploitation for the oil refinery in Tula. The contract price was 436 millions 398 thousand 637 Mexican pesos, with completion date on August 10, 2015.

The contract was expanded to 58 millions 230 thousand 313 Mexican pesos and 43 cents as part of the “first amendment agreement for the inclusion of unexpected volumes and concepts and increase of contract lump sum,” on April 28, 2015, which increased the payment to Odebrecht to one billion 794 million 628 thousand 951 hundred Mexican pesos with 22 cents.

Once Odebrecht was awarded the contact for 115 million dollars , the payments were made to the former PEMEX CEO.

O Globo

states it falls to the Mexican Attorney General to make the corresponding inquiries to discover if the money paid by the company only benefited Lozoya or if there were other members of the Peña Nieto administration involved.

The Office of Mexico's Attorney General (PGR) reported yesterday that they are in contact with Brazilian authorities to gather data on the case.

“Brazil's Prosecutor's Office has been changing the submission date of the corresponding information and haven't given Mexico a new one. They claim the case is currently being heard before the Superior Court of Brazil,” said the PGR in a statement.

This week the meeting of Latin American Attorney Generals will take place in Puebla, where they expected the Brazilian representatives; however, they canceled their attendance.

The PGR informed they have the statements from 10 civil servants and nine former PEMEX officials who were involved in the awarding of three public work contracts to the Brazilian company.

Through his Twitter account, Emilio Lozoya Austin categorically denied the accusations and the information on him accepting bribes, directly or indirectly, from Odebrecht or any of its officials.

“I have confirmed my interest in this matter being investigated and prosecuted, yet it's regrettable it has turned into gossip and groundless accusations,” he said.

am