Alma E. Muñoz and Arturo Sánchez
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, October 25, 2025, p. 4
The federal government maintains a legal battle against two companies for ventilators acquired during the covid-19 emergency. In the first case, he demands that Viva Enterprise Limited pay 41.1 million dollars for not having delivered 650 devices; In the second, he demands that Philips compensate damages for giving him defective equipment.
When detailing the dispute with the English firm Viva Enterprise, Raquel Buenrostro, Secretary of Anti-Corruption and Good Government, assured: “we did not divert the resource, there was a breach, there is deception on the part of the seller” and the person responsible for prosecuting the trial is the IMSS-Bienestar (formerly the Health Institute for Well-being, Insabi)”, both in London and in Mexico, where complaints were filed.
He did not rule out that as the investigations progress there will be administrative sanctions.
In the case of Philips, he indicated that the Federal Commission for the Protection of Health Risks (Cofepris) opened an investigation because it continues to sell the ventilators that received special health registration during the pandemic, despite the alert that the US Food and Drug Administration issued about them since 2021.
The foam in the E30, V60, V680, Trilogy and EV300 models could release particles or gases potentially harmful to patients, a warning that was replicated by health agencies around the world, in addition to Cofepris.
The official recalled that during the emergency, the Mexican Health Foundation donated 2,000 ventilators to different public and private institutions, in addition to what the government also purchased.
With the end of the pandemic, the special permit for all Philips respirators ended and by law “everyone had to withdraw them”, but the company continued to market them, “even using platforms”, which led to an investigation by Cofepris.
Buenrostro pointed out that they carried out a national reverification to guarantee that all these ventilators have been removed from public hospitals, “some have even been returned.” He stated that the health sector is analyzing the comprehensive legal strategy for this case, in addition to that “we are collaborating with other countries to see how they are addressing the issue.”
The official also explained that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is investigating breach of contract and deception by Viva Enterprise Limited, because it did not deliver 650 AEON VG70 ventilators, out of a thousand that were purchased during the pandemic.
This, despite the fact that the contract established 100 percent payment in advance – 1,416 million pesos – and that “the fans would be available in a week.”
The English firm argued delays, and on May 8, 2020, Insabi demanded the return of the money plus the interest generated. The following month, the company returned the equivalent of 300 ventilators and in July it sent only 50 devices.
In 2021, Insabi filed the criminal complaint with the FGR, which is still in the investigation process, and as the contract was signed under English jurisdiction, there is a trial pending in London, through the Peters & Peters firm, “for deception.”
He added that “the period for providing evidence concludes in November” and in December a hearing will be held prior to the trial, which will begin in the second half of January 2026, with a duration of 14 days.
“From the information we have from the office, it is very likely that we will win the trial, because the materiality of the deception occurs in the non-delivery” of the equipment, he concluded.
