World’s largest wealth fund divests from Pemex, citing corruption

Norway’s US $1.8-trillion sovereign wealthiness fund, the world’s largest, has sold each of its fixed-income investments successful Mexico’s state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), it announced connected Sunday. It cited a deficiency of transparency implicit corruption arsenic the main crushed for the divestment.  

“Investigations person revealed that Pemex whitethorn beryllium linked to aggregate allegations oregon suspicions of corruption successful Mexico successful the play 2004-2023,” the fund’s morals watchdog, the Council connected Ethics, said successful a statement.

“The Council attaches value to the information that a important fig of institution employees, including a erstwhile elder executive, are alleged to person received bribes connected respective abstracted occasions,” it added.  

The watchdog’s study cites investigations specified arsenic the Odebrecht ungraded and the imprisonment of erstwhile Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya for the fraudulent merchantability of a fertilizer works successful Veracruz, arsenic good arsenic different high-profile Pemex corruption cases from the past 20 years. 

Norway’s Wealth Fund operates nether guidelines acceptable by Norway’s parliament and is viewed arsenic a person successful environmental, societal and governance practices. 

Norway’s sovereign wealthiness money has a tiny involvement successful much than 8,500 companies crossed astir countries and industries, and is well-respected for its concern successful companies that minimize antagonistic effects connected the situation and society. (Norges Bank)

As of past June, the money held Pemex securities with a worth of astir $138 million. 

Pemex addressed the Council connected Monday, saying that it had responded promptly to requests for accusation from the wealthiness fund. However, the watchdog upheld its proposal to retreat investments. 

While the watchdog acknowledged that Pemex had an anti-corruption strategy successful place, it said that the lipid steadfast could connection small accusation connected however the strategy works successful practice.   

The study stated, determination is not “sufficient information, specifically connected acts of corruption successful 2017, reported successful the media.”

In addition, the study exposed accusations of favoritism toward definite suppliers and bribes from different companies successful speech for assistance with contracting processes. Multiple erstwhile Pemex employees were implicated, and respective cases person resulted successful ineligible settlements successful the United States.

Will Pemex thrive nether caller leadership?

Pemex’s indebtedness stands astatine astir $100 cardinal astatine present. The erstwhile López Obrador medication pledged economical enactment to assistance alleviate the fiscal burdens, a determination that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s medication has continued. 

Pemex to wage backmost US $6.4B successful indebtedness by the extremity of April

In October, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla was appointed arsenic the caller CEO of Pemex, heralding a caller era. An internal Pemex document astatine the clip stated plans for the steadfast to make caller concern models to pull concern during Sheinbaum’s 2024–2030 medication and ramp up deepwater lipid exploration. 

Pemex reported a nett nonaccomplishment of 43.3 cardinal pesos (US $2.2 billion) successful the archetypal 4th of 2025 and a autumn successful lipid output.  

With reports from Reuters and El País