Victor Alvarez Puga, the king of fake invoices in the sights of Mexican justice

"Attorney Victor Alvarez Puga, husband of famous television host Ines Gomez Mont, is the fabric that unites the common thread among politicians, businessmen, and drug traffickers in Mexico: the use of invoicing companies to evade taxes and launder money. After several years in exile with his wife in the United States, where he continued to enjoy the wealth he amassed through his illicit businesses, the lawyer, whom the Mexican government identifies as the head of a huge network of shell companies."

"He has an Interpol red notice against him, and there is a criminal arrest warrant for him in Mexico, but the lawyer slipped up due to issues with his immigration status in the United States. This could present a golden opportunity for Claudia Sheinbaum's government to lay its hands on Alvarez Puga, a symbol of the impunity afforded by enormous fortunes regardless of their origin and ties to a country's upper echelons, both legal and criminal."

"If Washington sends him to Mexico, taking advantage of his immigration detention, Alvarez Puga would be the second fugitive to be repatriated in this manner in a matter of months. In August, the U.S. handed Carlos Trevino the former Pemex director accused of corruption over to Mexico after having detained him for immigration irregularities. It remains to be seen whether this will become an alternative for the bilateral exchange of criminals outside the bureaucratic extradition process."

The Mexican government accuses Victor Manuel Alvarez Puga of leading a gigantic structure of shell companies that served corrupt politicians, businessmen, and drug traffickers. Alvarez Puga and his wife Ines Gomez Mont lived in the United States while enjoying wealth allegedly from illicit businesses. He faces an Interpol red notice and a criminal arrest warrant in Mexico and was detained at an immigration detention center in Miami because of immigration irregularities. His detention creates an opportunity for Mexican authorities to seek repatriation outside formal extradition procedures. In August, U.S. authorities repatriated Carlos Trevino after immigration detention, setting a recent precedent.

Read at english.elpais.com