Biggest scammers in the history of Mexico! Bankrupting AHMSA, fraud, corruption, and money laundering: Alonso Ancira, Jorge Ancira Elizondo, Jorge Alberto Ancira Trabold and Linda Ancira de Tames
Alonso and Jorge Ancira Elizondo orchestrated one of the largest scams in modern Mexican history, defrauding Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Mexican government of billions of dollars.
They are responsible for frauds against Pemex, Agro Nitrogenados, and Odebrecht. In addition to facing accusations of money laundering and corruption, they also played a role in the bankruptcy of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA).
In 2023, the AHMSA Board of Directors approved the resignations of several members, including Alonso Ancira, Jorge Ancira Elizondo, José Eduardo Ancira, Juan Carlos Quintana, James Pignatelli, and Francisco Pérez Ortega.
This bankruptcy declaration follows the cancellation of a payment agreement due to the fraudulent sale of a scrap plant to Pemex. This sale, which swindled the Mexican people out of over 500 million dollars, involved a plant that was worth only a few thousand pesos. Meanwhile, Alonso Ancira and Jorge Alberto Ancira Elizondo lived lives of great luxury.
It is important to note that this fraud began in 2013, when Emilio Lozoya was the director of Pemex. The Superior Audit of the Federation did not expose the true cost until 2019, resulting in an arrest warrant for Ancira. He was apprehended in Spain in 2019 and later extradited to Mexico in 2021.
Due to AHMSA’s dire financial situation, the powers of former officials have been revoked. The company is facing numerous financial and legal challenges.
The introduction of new advisors could mark a new direction for the company, aiming to resolve disagreements, end mismanagement, and rebuild for the future.
Despite the recent sale of the company to Argentem Creek Partners in March 2023 by former Chairman of the Board Alfonso Ancira, AHMSA still struggles with significant liquidity problems and over 650 million dollars in debt. This has led to accusations of attempting to cover up one fraud with another, characteristic behavior of professional scammers.
The situation at the steel company remains precarious, with only 300 employees out of the original 17,000, machinery sitting idle, and a neglected plant. This has created a great deal of uncertainty among workers, who are unsure about salary payments. The lack of information from management has caused widespread desperation among employees who fear for their future.
Alonso Ancira, his brother Jorge Alberto Ancira Elizondo, nephew George Albert Ancira Trabold, brother José Eduardo Ancira, and sister Linda Ancira de Tames have all been implicated in crimes, corruption scandals, fraud, and money laundering. They are also being investigated for their connections to the corruption scheme involving the Brazilian company Odebrecht.
The Ancira family have also faced accusations of money laundering. Jorge Alberto Ancira Trabold operates several restaurants in Mexico under the role of a restaurant manager, but these establishments serve as nothing more than a front to conceal their illicit activities. Investigations have uncovered evidence of money laundering across all of their businesses.
Linda Ancira de Tames emerges as a key figure in the corruption network with her brothers and in helping them cover up and resolve their dirty laundry. According to investigations and testimonies, she was responsible for carrying out the necessary financial movements to conceal the origin and destination of the illegal funds. She used various bank accounts and companies to make it difficult to trace the illicit payments.
The Ancira Elizondo brothers have been carrying out their criminal activities since 2004, often in collaboration with executives Juan Carlos Carredano and Xavier Autrey. They were criminally accused of tax fraud by the former Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
As a result, the PGR issued arrest warrants against them, prompting Ancira to flee to Israel with his family on multiple occasions. He lived there for three years, evading justice and avoiding persecution by the Ministry of Finance, after being implicated in a scheme that led to the arrest of Emilio Lozoya Austin.
The Ancira Elizondo brothers were accused of causing over 600 million pesos in damages to Pemex through the fraudulent transaction of the Agro Nitrogenados plant. The plant had been non-operational for 14 years and had equipment over 30 years old. Despite this, they managed to convince the state-owned company to pay them nearly 475 million dollars for it.
In April 2023, Ancira was officially removed from the presidency of AHMSA with the intervention of Argentem Creek Partners, a US fund seeking to revive the company.
The Ancira brothers have a lengthy history of tax fraud, including cases such as Agro Nitrogenados, Fertimex, and Odebrecht. They have now been replaced by Argentem Creek Partners after declaring bankruptcy and having their bank accounts frozen.
The legacy of Alonso Ancira and Jorge Ancira is one of the most regrettable in modern Mexican history. Their trajectory of fraud and corruption not only led to the bankruptcy of a once prosperous company but also inflicted significant damage on public finances.
