7/17/2014
Mexican Court Quashes Warrant for Ex-Owner of Bankrupt Airline
MEXICO CITY – A Mexican court overturned an arrest warrant on embezzlement and money-laundering charges that had been issued for the fugitive former owner of bankrupt airline Mexicana de Aviacion.
The judiciary said in a bulletin that a court in Mexico City quashed the arrest order for Gaston Azcarraga Andrade over lack of legal grounds.
The tribunal that issued the warrant was ordered to hand down “a new ruling that strictly adheres to the guarantees enshrined” in Mexico’s constitution.
Azcarraga, also the former chairman of Mexicana’s board, faces a range of criminal and administrative complaints related to his alleged fraudulent administration of the airline.
The suspect petitioned for asylum in the United States several months ago after his visa expired, but he has not been arrested, according to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.
In May, an AG’s office spokesperson told reporters that Mexican authorities asked their U.S. counterparts to detain the businessman for purposes of extradition but noted that Azcarraga cannot be detained while his asylum request is pending.
Azcarraga and other investors acquired the airline in 2005 for $165 million, although the company quickly went south and was sold on Aug. 20, 2010, for a symbolic amount to an investor group known as Tenedora K.
Mexicana was forced to ground all of its flights a week later amid a hefty debt load, and in September 2010 a judge granted it protection from its creditors.
Nearly four years later, on April 4 of this year, a Mexican court declared the airline officially bankrupt and ordered the sale of its assets.
Mexican Court Quashes Warrant for Ex-Owner of Bankrupt Airline
MEXICO CITY – A Mexican court overturned an arrest warrant on embezzlement and money-laundering charges that had been issued for the fugitive former owner of bankrupt airline Mexicana de Aviacion.The judiciary said in a bulletin that a court in Mexico City quashed the arrest order for Gaston Azcarraga Andrade over lack of legal grounds.
The tribunal that issued the warrant was ordered to hand down “a new ruling that strictly adheres to the guarantees enshrined” in Mexico’s constitution.
Azcarraga, also the former chairman of Mexicana’s board, faces a range of criminal and administrative complaints related to his alleged fraudulent administration of the airline.
The suspect petitioned for asylum in the United States several months ago after his visa expired, but he has not been arrested, according to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.
In May, an AG’s office spokesperson told reporters that Mexican authorities asked their U.S. counterparts to detain the businessman for purposes of extradition but noted that Azcarraga cannot be detained while his asylum request is pending.
Azcarraga and other investors acquired the airline in 2005 for $165 million, although the company quickly went south and was sold on Aug. 20, 2010, for a symbolic amount to an investor group known as Tenedora K.
Mexicana was forced to ground all of its flights a week later amid a hefty debt load, and in September 2010 a judge granted it protection from its creditors.
Nearly four years later, on April 4 of this year, a Mexican court declared the airline officially bankrupt and ordered the sale of its assets.
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