Anti-corruption chief reveals sophisticated fuel tax evasion network costing Mexico billions

In collusion with customs agents and the merchant marine, transnational corporations person brought ample quantities of substance into Mexico without paying the IEPS excise tax, resulting successful mislaid gross of astir 1 cardinal pesos per shipment, according to the national government’s apical anti-corruption official.

In an interrogation with the paper El Universal’s programme Con los de Casa past week, the national Anti-Corruption and Good Government Minister Raquel Buenrostro said that transnational companies person avoided paying IEPS excise taxation connected shipments of gasoline and diesel due to the fact that they “report” the substance arsenic “vegetable lipid oregon lubricants,” oregon “any different product” that is not taxable to the IEPS — the Special Tax connected Production and Services.

She said that “each unloading” of a shipment of substance for which the IEPS is not paid costs taxation authorities a seemingly incredulous magnitude of astir 1 cardinal pesos (US $51.7 million).

“We’re talking astir a well-designed, blase strategy successful which customs agents and adjacent high-ranking managers successful definite companies participate,” Buenrostro said successful a abstracted property conference.

She described the signifier arsenic “technical smuggling.”

It is besides known arsenic “huachicol fiscal,” — fiscal substance theft, oregon tax-robbed fuel.

Huachicol is simply a colloquial word for stolen substance successful Mexico, huachicoleo is substance theft and huachicoleros are substance thieves. Fuel is astir commonly stolen successful Mexico via amerciable taps connected Pemex pipelines.

Fuel connected which taxation is evaded comes into Mexico via its seaports and its onshore borderline with the United States, particularly that with Texas, the largest fuel-producing authorities successful the U.S.

“We’re trying to beryllium prudent due to the fact that we don’t … [want] to origin chaos successful the market, but we bash privation justness to beryllium served,” Raquel Buenrostro said. (Victoria Valtierra/Cuartoscuro)

In her interrogation connected the El Universal program, Buenrostro didn’t place immoderate of the ample “high prestige” companies allegedly progressive successful the evasive practice, asserting that to bash truthful would origin “all their shares” to diminution successful value.

“We’re trying to beryllium prudent due to the fact that we don’t … [want] to origin chaos successful the market, but we bash privation justness to beryllium served,” she said.

Buenrostro antecedently noted that Vitol, a Switzerland-based Dutch vigor multinational, is among the companies that person been accused of evading Mexican taxes connected imported fuel.

Citing estimates from the Energy and Economy ministries and the national taxation bureau SAT, El Universal reported that if the evasion of Mexico’s value-added taxation (IVA) and the IEPS connected imports of gasoline and diesel was stopped, an further 100 cardinal pesos (US $5.2 billion) would travel into national coffers each year.

Buenrostro, a erstwhile taxation bureau main nicknamed the “Iron Lady,” said that SAT filed substance smuggling complaints with the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and a peculiar prosecutor’s bureau during the 2018-24 presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

She explained that complaints against authorities officials were filed with the peculiar prosecutor’s bureau tasked with investigating crimes successful which nationalist servants were allegedly involved.

The anti-corruption curate said that nary of the substance smuggling cases SAT reported person been resolved.

“No advancement has been made,” she said, adding that the ministry she leads doesn’t person immoderate documents relating to caller substance smuggling complaints filed since President Claudia Sheinbaum took bureau past October.

In a caller property conference, Buenrostro said that “Vitol is lone a typical case,” stressing that “there are different companies that are being investigated” for taxation evasion connected substance imports.

The quality website Infobae reported that Vitol “has already been investigated for acts of corruption and bribery successful Mexico,” but it has not been convicted of immoderate crime.

According to the Naval Ministry, Tamaulipas’s Port of Altamira is 1 of 4 Mexican ports progressive successful a “smuggling network” that is evading taxes connected imported substance from the United States. (Gobierno de México)

Citing an probe by the Naval Intelligence Unit of the Navy Ministry, El Universal reported past period that “a smuggling network” that brings gasoline into Mexico from the United States “operates astatine at slightest 4 Mexican ports: Altamira and Tampico successful Tamaulipas; Ensenada successful Baja California; and Guaymas successful Sonora.”

“Authorities and directors astatine institutions and companies … are involved: the exporters, the importers, the shipping companies, the customs and taxation authorities astatine ports, the distributors and the state presumption owners that merchantability this amerciable substance astatine little prices,” El Universal said.

‘Unfair contention for Pemex’

Buenrostro said that transnational companies’ evasion of taxation connected imported shipments of substance successful caller years doesn’t conscionable pb to a nonaccomplishment of taxation gross but besides represents “unfair contention for Pemex,” Mexico’s state-owned lipid company, and “other ineligible importers of fuel.”

“In addition, due to the fact that it is unregulated fuel, it besides poses information and biology risks,” she said.

Buenrostro said that the authorities was considering a betterment to the Hydrocarbons Law to tighten controls connected substance import permits, arsenic good arsenic different measures to forestall the evasion of taxation connected gasoline and diesel brought into the country.

“We’re not going to let the authorities to proceed being harmed by specified shameless [tax] evasion schemes,” she said.

Buenrostro said that “the intention” of Mexican authorities “is not to spell against overseas investment, but alternatively request that [foreign companies] comply with the instrumentality similar immoderate nationalist company.”

The Mexican authorities has already dealt immoderate important blows to amerciable substance trafficking networks, including successful March erstwhile 10 cardinal liters of diesel were seized from a Singapore-flagged vessel that arrived astatine the larboard of Tampico, allegedly transporting lubricating lipid additives.

Navy seizes implicit 17 cardinal liters of stolen substance successful treble ‘huachicol’ busts

According to the quality website La Silla Rota, Francisco Barnés de Castro, a erstwhile main of Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission, led a caller survey that recovered that huachicol fiscal has accrued “alarmingly” successful Mexico and go a “direct threat” to nationalist finances and the “formal” vigor sector.

Fuel imported to Mexico connected which the IEPS excise taxation wasn’t paid is sold astatine a cheaper price, putting companies that bash wage their taxes astatine a disadvantage, according to Barnés de Castro. He claimed that determination has been a deficiency of governmental volition and authorities enactment to combat the problem.

Barnés de Castro called for a strengthening of “customs supervision” and the exertion of “criminal penalties” to discourage the method smuggling of fuel, according to La Silla Rota.

Murders, disappearances and ‘a analyzable web of organization protection’

Infobae reported connected Monday that the “huachicol fiscal” strategy successful Mexico has near “a way of murders, disappearances, suspicious contracts and a analyzable web of organization protection.”

“… This [scheme] operates with [phony] invoices, customs agents and administrative offices that legalize illegality from customs and borders,” the quality website said.

Infobae said that Sergio Carmona Angulo, dubbed “El Rey de Huachicol” (The King of Stolen Fuel), was a cardinal subordinate successful the taxation evasion scheme. He was murdered successful Nuevo León successful 2021, but “the machinery” of the illicit strategy “didn’t stop,” the quality website said.

“Businesspeople, carriers and operators proceed moving substance done customs with evasion mechanisms that stay progressive today,” Infobae said, adding that the signifier has outgo Mexico much than 500 cardinal pesos successful mislaid taxation gross successful caller years.

Infobae reported connected the execution and disappearance of different radical allegedly linked to hauchicol fiscal successful Mexico. It besides said that “several politicians and high-level officials person been pointed retired for their closeness to Carmona.”

Among those mentioned by Infobae are Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya and Mario Delgado Carrillo, the existent national acquisition curate and erstwhile president of Morena, Mexico’s ruling party.

Infobae reported that Villarreal, who took bureau successful 2022, “was linked to electoral funding” provided by Carmona and took flights connected craft owned by the now-deceased “King of Stolen Fuel.”

It noted that Xochitl Gálvez, a erstwhile legislator and statesmanlike campaigner successful 2024, “revealed” successful 2023 that Delgado “traveled connected craft owned by Carmona during [election] campaigns successful the northbound of the country.”

Criminal organizations specified arsenic the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are besides allegedly progressive successful illicit substance schemes, including the smuggling of stolen crude lipid from Mexico into the United States.

Mexican cartels are alleged to person co-conspirators connected the different broadside of the border.

As Mexico News Daily reported successful precocious April, a Utah mates and their 2 sons are facing national charges successful the United States for allegedly smuggling US $300 cardinal worthy of crude lipid from Mexico successful collaboration with Mexican transgression organizations.

With reports from El Universal, Infobae and La Silla Rota