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Mexico’s Anti-Corruption President-Elect Could Face $10 Million Fine

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Mexico’s political party of the president-elect is potentially facing a $10 million fine for violating campaign finance laws, the National Electoral Institute (INE) announced Wednesday.

The party of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has pledged to “cleanse” his country of corruption and violence that he says the establishment government is responsible for, is now potentially facing a possible fine of more than 197 million pesos, which would be the largest campaign finance related fine for the election season.

Lopez Obrador and his leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party won the election and took a majority in Congress by a landslide on July 1, Reuters reported. (RELATED: Here Is The Man Leading In Mexico’s Presidential Race Who Calls Immigration A Human Right)

The INE said MORENA formed a trust in which it didn’t report nearly 78.8 million pesos (or $4 million), mostly through cash deposits.

“The party actively participated in forming this financial instrument to collect resources as a financing method contrary to the rules,” the INE said in a statement.

The fine is result of MORENA’s blatant omission of accurately reporting as well as exceeding cash contribution limits and receiving donations and deposits from unknown and prohibited entities.

The trust under investigation is reportedly called “For The Others,” which was set up by MORENA to help victims of earthquakes in September 2017.

The INE claims 64.4 million pesos (or $3 million) were withdrawn from the account and distributed to party members, who later cashed them in.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the outgoing party of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s, requested the investigation after they claimed MORENA started the fund without reporting it to authorities.

The INE also plans to fine the PRI 36.5 million pesos (or $1.88 million) for taking money from state workers and giving it to the party’s Chihuahua state treasury in 2015, and the National Action Party 3 million pesos (or $154,337) for taking funds from prohibited entities in this last election cycle.

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