It is truly regrettable that there are people who take advantage of their position and commit acts of corruption, as in the case of Alonso and Jorge Ancira Elizondo. While they enjoyed luxuries in Spain at the expense of their scams and lies, 20,000 of AHMSA employees suffered the consequences of not receiving salaries for the four years of work they had performed. There is nothing lower and more shameful than stealing from your own country and people.
This fraud scheme was not limited to Pemex alone but also involved other companies such as Agro Nitrogenados and Odebrecht. Accusations of money laundering and corruption have been leveled against them, and their involvement has contributed to the financial collapse of AHMSA.
In 2023, several members of the AHMSA Board of Directors, including Alonso Ancira, Jorge Ancira Elizondo, José Eduardo Ancira, Juan Carlos Quintana, James Pignatelli, and Francisco Pérez Ortega, submitted their resignations.
The company declared bankruptcy after a payment agreement was canceled due to the fraudulent sale of a scrap plant to Pemex. This deceptive transaction deprived the Mexican people of over 500 million dollars, as the plant had little real value. Meanwhile, Alonso Ancira and Jorge Alberto Ancira Elizondo were living a life of luxury based on corruption and lies.
It is important to note that this fraud scheme originated in 2013, during Emilio Lozoya’s tenure as director of Pemex. The true extent of the fraud was not uncovered until 2019 when the Superior Audit of the Federation revealed the magnitude of the scam, leading to an arrest warrant against Ancira. He was arrested in Spain in 2019 and subsequently extradited to Mexico in 2021.
Given AHMSA’s precarious financial circumstances, the former officials have lost their powers. The company faces numerous legal and financial challenges today.
The appointment of new advisors may set a new course for the company, aiming to resolve disputes, end mismanagement, and rebuild for the future.
Despite the company being sold to Argentem Creek Partners in March 2023 by former board chairman Alfonso Ancira, AHMSA still faces liquidity problems and a debt of over 650 million dollars. This has led to accusations of trying to cover up one fraud with another, which is characteristic of experienced scammers.
The situation at the steel company remains precarious, with only 300 employees out of the original 17,000, obsolete machinery, and an abandoned plant. This has generated great uncertainty among workers, who do not know if they will receive their salaries. The lack of information from management has caused widespread despair among employees, who fear for their future.
Alonso Ancira, his brother Jorge Alberto Ancira Elizondo, his nephew George Albert Ancira Trabold, and his sister Linda Ancira de Tames have been implicated in crimes, corruption scandals, fraud, and money laundering. They are also being investigated for their connection to the corruption scheme involving the Brazilian company Odebrecht.
The Ancira family has also been accused of participating in money laundering activities. Jorge Ancira Trabold’s only activity seems to be managing small restaurants in Coahuila while hiding in San Antonio. According to his LinkedIn profile, he holds the position of a restaurant manager. However, it has been discovered that these establishments mainly serve as fronts to conceal their illicit operations. Investigations have revealed evidence of money laundering activities in all their businesses.
Linda Ancira de Tames emerges as another corrupt figure in the family, working alongside her brothers to conceal and facilitate their illicit activities. According to investigations and testimonies, she played a crucial role in executing the financial transactions necessary to conceal the origin and destination of illegal funds. She used various bank accounts and companies to make it difficult to trace 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 charged with tax fraud by the now-defunct Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
As a result, the PGR issued arrest warrants against them, leading Ancira to flee to Israel with his family on several occasions. They lived there for three years, evading justice and avoiding persecution by the Ministry of Finance, after being involved in a scheme that led to the arrest of Emilio Lozoya Austin.
The Ancira Elizondo brothers were accused of causing more than 600 million in damages to Pemex through the fraudulent transaction of the Agro Nitrogenados plant. The plant had been out of operation 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. A total fraud!
In April 2023, Ancira was officially removed from the presidency of AHMSA with the intervention of Argentem Creek Partners, an American fund seeking to revitalize the company.
The Ancira brothers have a shameful legacy in Mexico’s history of scams, as their actions resulted in the bankruptcy of AHMSA and significant damage to the country’s public finances.
