Mexican politician confesses to having received 15 suitcases of money in bribes from Odebrecht

Caraveo Opengo declared that former senator Jorge Luis Lavalle Maury instructed him to collect “files” that were actually bundles of money.

Rafael Jesús Caraveo Opengo, former technical secretary of the Administration Commission in the Senate, who appeared last August in a video receiving bundles of bills from an alleged official of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), confessed to the Attorney General’s Office ( FGR) that it was not one, but 15 suitcases of money that he received seven times as part of the bribery scheme delivered by the Odebrecht company in Mexico during Enrique Peña Nieto’s six-year term, This was published by the Reforma newspaper on Wednesday, November 11th.

Reforma had access to the statement of the militant of the National Action Party (PAN), who would have detailed two months ago before the authorities that the money was received “on orders of the then PAN Senator Jorge Luis Lavalle Maury and that the destination was for electoral campaigns”.

“’José Luis Lavalle Maury called me and told me who would go with me,’ he declared, ‘since it was two other people who accompanied me to receive the money, and then he gave me the phone number of other people that I met at the parking lot of the Senate, “said the former official, according to the newspaper.

Likewise, Caraveo Opengo explained that upon leaving the Mexican Senate building they were heading to Montes Urales 425, located in the Lomas de Chapultepec, to make the money deliveries, as Emilio Lozoya, former CEO of Pemex, had denounced on 11 August, when he accused that bribes were given to legislators to approve the Energy Reform promoted in the EPN government.

On the site, he pointed out, “Francisco Olascoaga [head of the Administrative Department in the General Directorate of Pemex] already had receipts ready in which he specified the date and the amount he was delivering to me and which I stamped my signature.”

In the statement of Jesús Caraveo Opengo, Reforma indicated, it is found that the first delivery of money took place at the end of 2013.

José Velasco Herrera, Lozoya’s chief aides, was the one who spoke to the PAN senator to specify details on the delivery.

“Immediately he showed me a black cloth suitcase, approximately 50 centimeters long by 50 centimeters wide, which he opened and which did not contain files, as Mr. Jorge Luis Lavalle Maury had told me, but bundles of 500 peso bills, “he said.

Later, Caraveo spoke to the legislator, who only asked him to hand over the suitcase. When he saw him do it, he would have claimed that he had sent him to collect the money.

“He told me not to worry because it was not illegal, to be calm, since they were returning a loan and I got upset and left his office, clarifying that on that occasion I did not know or do not remember the total amount that it contained the suitcase, ” Caraveo stated, according to Reforma.

Last August a video was released in which Caraveo is seen receiving money: