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Greater than a yr has handed because the Mexican authorities launched an investigation in opposition to WhiteWater Midstream, a US firm that signed multi-billion greenback contracts with Mexico’s state-owned Federal Electrical energy Fee (CFE) in the course of the presidential administration of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-18).

In US courts, the CFE is trying to show that Guillermo Turrent and Javier Gutiérrez – two former CFE officers – engaged in corruption and influence-peddling once they held their positions in the course of the Peña Nieto administration. WhiteWater seems on the heart of the fees. Whereas the case has progressed in US courts, it has stalled within the Mexican judicial system.

Turrent, throughout his years as director of CFE Worldwide – the state agency’s personal subsidiary within the US – gave the unknown Texas firm a number of contracts, together with one to produce 15% of the pure fuel that Mexico imports day by day. Gutiérrez – who held a place near Turrent – seems in inner paperwork as an executor of at the very least one settlement with WhiteWater. Gutiérrez additionally owns a US firm referred to as JG Vitality, which is registered on the similar tackle as one in all WhiteWater’s founders.

An EL PAÍS investigation revealed in July of final yr uncovered, for the primary time, the ties between Turrent, Gutiérrez and WhiteWater executives Matthew Calhoun and Arlin Travis. The 2 Individuals – former colleagues of Turrent’s from about 20 years in the past – initially met in Texas to open WhiteWater Midstream. Months later, the corporate gained pure fuel provide contracts from CFE Worldwide, which was headed by Turrent throughout most of Peña Nieto’s presidency. Emails and paperwork present attainable conflicts of curiosity and privileged data in the course of the bids. Moreover, each Calhoun and Travis signed contracts with the CFE earlier than coming collectively to create WhiteWater.

If the phrases of the contracts are fulfilled over the subsequent twenty years, the overall funds to WhiteWater would quantity to billions of {dollars} – particularly because the Texas agency hiked costs in February of 2021. After Mexico refused to pay, WhiteWater started arbitration processes.

Below the path of Manuel Bartlett – one of the crucial highly effective allies of Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – the CFE employed a famend regulation agency within the US to show to the neighboring nation’s judges that the vitality offers with WhiteWater have been struck in a corrupt method. In Mexico, the state agency took the case to the Anticorruption Prosecutor within the Lawyer Common’s workplace.

Antaeus Group could also be concerned

Not too long ago, findings level to a 3rd firm that’s concerned on this saga. Texas court docket paperwork present that the CFE has had earlier dealings with a agency that precedes WhiteWater, however has the identical members. Based by Matthew Calhoun in 2013 – simply months after Turrent joined the CFE – the Antaeus Group is listed as a beneficiary in a number of CFE contracts in Texas. Mexico’s state vitality agency claims to have proof that, earlier than being a CFE official, Javier Gutiérrez was one of many principal executives (both proprietor or founder) of the agency.

In response to a doc from the US Federal Vitality Regulatory Commision, the Antaeus Group obtained the rights to construct a pure fuel pipeline from the CFE. Nonetheless, they by no means constructed the pipeline: Antaeus rented out the rights to a different firm, which might construct and function the pipeline in trade for $2.1 million per 30 days. The CFE’s present administration considers that this was “orchestrated” to learn Antaeus, an organization that was by no means able to finishing the venture within the first place.

A current transcript from the listening to revealed a CFE lawyer making the argument to a choose that the Antaeus Group is “apparently a precursor to WhiteWater Midstream, which was shaped by Matt Calhoun and others. From 2013 to 2016, there are what look like at the very least 4 efforts – some profitable and a few unsuccessful – by Gutiérrez and Turrent to do enterprise with Calhoun via the Antaeus Group.”

The choose replied: “After I learn either side – however significantly what you’ve given me – there’s a sign that Antaeus is as much as no good.” The lawyer responded within the affirmative.

Civil lawsuit for $1 million in damages

On September 21, CFE Worldwide sued former officers Turrent and Gutiérrez for breach of their duties by awarding “pointless and overpriced” contracts to WhiteWater. The civil lawsuit, filed in a federal court docket in Houston, calls for that the lads pay $1 million in damages.

“This case arises from the rampant corruption, cronyism and conflicts of curiosity via which defendants Turrent and Gutiérrez awarded billions of {dollars} of pointless and overpriced pure fuel provide and pipeline contracts to WhiteWater Midstream,” the textual content reads. “The financial toll inflicted on the CFE Group is estimated to be at the very least within the tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}, and the hurt to CFE Worldwide [alone] greater than $1 million, with the overall quantity of damages to be confirmed at trial.”

CFE court docket setback

To study extra concerning the hyperlinks between Turrent, Gutiérrez, Travis and Calhoun, the CFE went to 2 courts within the US with “discovery” requests. This may have pressured these concerned handy over correspondence, transactions and different varieties of information that their firms had with CFE Worldwide. In Calhoun’s case, the corporate concerned is the Antaeus Group; in Travis’s case, it’s Arbor Glen, whereas Gutierrez’s is JG Vitality, which was registered to Calhoun’s tackle in Texas, in response to the CFE’s findings.

Nonetheless, on August 17, the case in opposition to the lads suffered a setback when a federal choose dismissed two of the invention requests. The choose decided that there isn’t any readability as to the scope of the investigation in Mexico and mentioned that “there isn’t any indication that the Mexicans are literally pursuing it,” in response to a transcript of the listening to in Austin. He really useful that the state agency’s protection group strategy US authorities to achieve a Mutual Authorized Help Treaty (MLAT): an settlement between two or extra international locations for the aim of gathering and exchanging data in an effort to implement legal guidelines.

“I do know the Mexican authorities really want this materials… and the MLAT process supplies them with a foundation to get it. However they’re not doing that.”

Case stalled in Mexico

In comparison with the findings and advances achieved by the CFE’s attorneys within the US, the state agency’s authorized protection in Mexico seems to be stalled. Gutiérrez has been accused of attainable corruption in varied contracts he signed as an official with CFE Worldwide, however solely one of many contracts is with WhiteWater. In the meantime, Turrent is just not being investigated in Mexico in any respect for his dealings with the Texas firm. As a substitute, he’s being questioned a couple of contract signed with a global consulting agency, utterly unrelated to WhiteWater.

Gutiérrez’s final two hearings in Mexico have been postponed, that means that the case has not moved ahead. The following listening to is scheduled for October 26.