To this is added that in February 2022, in the inspection of the 2020 Public Accountcarried out by the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), Segalmex—for the first time—led the irregularities detected, which at that time amounted to 8,636 million pesos.
These irregularities corresponded to the acquisition and payments without documentary support of corn, beans, basic basket, milk and subsidies for rice, wheat and corn; payments that exceeded the tonnage or guarantee price established for corn and beans; payments without accrediting the provision of the personnel subcontracting service (outsourcing) and reception of pesticides; payments outside the term of the freight services contract; shortages of corn and beans in inventories and cash outflows not identified with their concept.
Given this, López Obrador revealed that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) had launched a series of investigations into mismanagement by Segalmex officials, supposedly since before the ASF presented its report.
Two months later, in April 2022, the FGR reported that Gavira Sagreste —who had resigned from his position at Segalmex in 2021— was linked to the process after being accused of buying stock securities with resources from this agricultural body.
After it was revealed that the FGR was already investigating the alleged acts of corruption and the link to the process of some of its former officials, López Obrador relieved Ignacio Ovalle Fernández of the general direction of the organization and in his place appointed Leonel Cota Montaño, former governor of Baja California .
(Photo: Segob)
Thus, the investigations into this case continued and in June 2022, the Ministry of Public Function (SFP) detailed that the FGR had a total of 15 research folders opened for alleged crimes that caused patrimonial damage to Segalmex during the first two years of operation of the organization. While inside the SFP other 17 investigation files. For August, already added 38 complaints filed with the FGR.
By November 2022, the SFP assured that the companies related to the irregularities in Segalmex began to return the amounts of resources involved. At the same time, the complaints for alleged acts of corruption increased in the following months, since by August 2022, the SFP revealed that there had already been 38 open research folders for the crimes of illicit use of powers and attributions that caused alleged damage of around 9,500 million pesos.
