Samuel García’s Family Network; Mother and Siblings Sent 114 Million Pesos in Illegal Campaign Financing: INE

The opposition in Nuevo León’s Congress is promoting impeachment proceedings against Governor Samuel García, accusing him of channeling resources through companies linked to his family. A similar investigation, launched after indications of fund triangulation detected by the National Electoral Institute (INE) following his election as governor, remains open.

The National Electoral Institute filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) over alleged illegal financing provided to Samuel García by relatives who had no demonstrable income and yet contributed 114 million pesos to his 2021 gubernatorial campaign.

The triangulation scheme detected by electoral authorities around Samuel García’s campaign consisted of direct family members serving as intermediaries to channel resources from private companies to the Citizens’ Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano, MC) party, thereby circumventing the legal prohibition on corporate campaign financing.

The Three Linked Companies

Electoral authorities found that three companies — Firma Jurídica y Fiscal Abogados S.C., SAGA Tierras y Bienes Inmuebles S.A. de C.V., and Firma Contable y Fiscal Contadores y Financieros S.C. — deposited large sums of money into the accounts of the candidate’s relatives.

Just one or two days after receiving the deposits, the family members transferred identical amounts to the bank accounts of Movimiento Ciudadano’s National Executive Committee.

A portion of those resources was later transferred to Samuel García’s campaign in Nuevo León to cover expenses such as advertising, billboard rentals and printing, media coverage and banner installations.

The total amount documented under this triangulation scheme reached 14,026,500 pesos, distributed among the relatives involved as follows.

Samuel García’s Relatives Involved

Bertha Silvia Sepúlveda Andrade, the governor’s mother, made five contributions totaling 11.6 million pesos. According to the INE investigation, those funds originated from Firma Jurídica y Fiscal Abogados and SAGA Tierras y Bienes Inmuebles.

García’s sister, Silvia Catalina García Sepúlveda, contributed 1.585 million pesos after receiving prior deposits in the same amount from Firma Jurídica y Fiscal Abogados and Firma Contable y Fiscal Contadores y Financieros.

Roberto Miguel García Sepúlveda, the governor’s brother, funneled 840,000 pesos after receiving an identical amount from Firma Jurídica y Fiscal Abogados through his mother, who transferred the money to him. Two days later, he transferred the funds to Movimiento Ciudadano.

Electoral authorities concluded that the practice of receiving money and subsequently transferring it to Movimiento Ciudadano constituted a simulation of legal transactions because those making the contributions could not demonstrate that the resources formed part of their personal assets.

For example, the governor’s mother identified herself as a homemaker and investor, but she did not submit annual tax returns to Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) in 2019 or 2020. His brother, meanwhile, was registered as a student.

Additionally, none of the family members presented CFDI tax records showing the receipt of dividends or income from the companies involved.

Invalid Justifications: The candidate’s mother argued that the money received from SAGA Tierras y Bienes Inmuebles corresponded to dividends derived from an “onerous donation” of real estate. However, electoral authorities determined that the argument lacked legal basis and that the donation agreement was simulated to disguise a prohibited campaign contribution.

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Partial Victory and Pending Investigation

Samuel García and Movimiento Ciudadano challenged the 28 million peso sanction imposed by the INE General Council for failing to reject contributions from prohibited entities. The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary partially ruled in their favor, arguing that the investigation had been insufficient.

The court ordered the Technical Auditing Unit to deepen its investigation in order to clarify the origin and ultimate destination of all funds involved.

The ruling requires a more exhaustive investigation that includes all individuals and companies involved and establishes the final destination of the total resources under review.

This article was translated and edited with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

VGB