Mexican Attorney General Gertz Manero. Photo: Google

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

According to an extensive investigation conducted by the U.S. Spanish-language television network Univision, Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero — who has already earned himself considerable public ridicule and distrust for prosecuting his 94-year-old sister-in-law and her family in order to expropriate their inheritance from his late brother, and for trying to incarcerate 31 renowned Mexican scientists who revealed the fact that he had plagiarized his professional thesis — allegedly has two additional undeclared luxury apartments in the United States, one in front of Central Park in New York City, and the other in Santa Monica, California, valued at more than $3.5 million.

The New York apartment was apparently acquired by Gertz Manero in 2012 for the sum of $2.4 million. He allegedly purchased the Santa Monica property in 2007, when he was still the president of the Mexican Federation of Higher Education Institutions.

In an interview for Univision, Gertz Manero said that the New York property had been declared to Mexican tax authorities, and that the property in California was properly  “registered,” but he did not claim to have declared its existence before Mexican tax authorities. He produced no evidence to back up his claims.

Gertz Manero was also implicated in the October publication of the so-called Pandora Papers, which revealed undeclared bank accounts and the use of tax havens by political leaders around the world.

Gertz Manero’s extensive assets both in Mexico and abroad, which continue to be revealed by the media, could lead to him to being investigated for his alleged unjustified enrichment as a public official, but so far no legal actions have been taken against him.

Following the release of the Pandora Papers, in which it was revealed that Gertz Manero has $7.8 million in Swiss bank Bank Julius Bäer, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of the Mexican Treasury requested financial documents of 79 people whose names had been mentioned in the exposé, including those of Gertz Manero.   

Moreover, despite being legally obliged to do so as a close member of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) political inner circle, Gertz Manero has consistently refused to publicize his assets and acknowledge possible conflicts of interest, although he has said that he has declared his holdings to Mexican tax authorities.

Earlier this month, yet another media report in the daily El Universal revealed the fact that Gertz Manero had purchased at least 122 luxury vehicles between 2014 and 2015, including several Mercedes Benz and a Rolls-Royce, as well as owning a previously undisclosed home in Paris, France.

And in October, Proceso magazine revealed that Gertz Manero also owns a home in the exclusive Mexico City neighborhood of Lomas de Chapultepec.

When questioned about the growing list of his undeclared assets, the Mexican attorney general has claimed that he is the subject of media harassment instigated by his political foes.

López Obrador has stated on multiple occasions that the fortunes of his public servants are contradictory to his austerity policies.