Mayor accused of faking her kidnapping in embezzlement scheme
A Mexican mayor allegedly faked his own kidnapping to embezzle $2 million worth of government funds disguised as a ransom, local officials said Thursday.
Nancy Napoles, the mayor of Tenancingo, a few hours outside Mexico City, declared her innocence in a statement. video It was stated on social media that the accusations were “politicised”.
Naples is a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party. fight against corruption one of the pillars of his administration.
Prosecutors said They asked Napoli to testify on July 9 for a “simulated kidnapping.” Unlike her escaped husband and brother-in-law, there is no arrest warrant against her.
According to the prosecution, the gunmen forced Napoles out of his car at gunpoint, basing the case on the testimony of three “kidnappers” who have now been arrested.
Nancy Napoli / Credit: Facebook
Authorities claimed that those who held him in captivity threatened to kill Napoles and his family if they did not pay “40 million pesos in exchange for his freedom”, and advised that if he could not pay the ransom equivalent to 2.3 million dollars, he would have to “get resources from the local government”.
However, an unsuspecting witness who saw the mayor being forced into the car ruined the plan by reporting it to the police. Police also launched a search and forced the mayor to resign.
Prosecutors too published images They show what they say is a fake kidnapping.
A subsequent investigation revealed inconsistencies in her story, suggesting that the mayor’s husband and brother-in-law had planned the “fake kidnapping” to claim public money that had “already been embezzled and provided a justification for the money.”
Napoles denied the accusation and said he was willing to cooperate with authorities to clarify what happened in order to “punish the guilty actors.”
Other senior Mexican officials have also been accused of criminal activity in recent months. in April, USA blamed The governor of Sinaloa and nine current and former Mexican officials for drug trafficking and weapons crimes.
Last year the mayor of a town in western Mexico arrested It’s part of an investigation into a suspected drug cartel training camp where human bones and clothing were found.
