Sheinbaum Open to Probe of Businessman Amílcar Olán

Mexico · Politics

Updated 1 time · Latest: 16 October 2026

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A businessman accused of turning friendship with Mexico’s former first family into public contracts has been found living quietly, and in hiding, beside a lake in Switzerland. On Monday, the case of Jorge Amílcar Olán reached President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference, and with it the question of whether federal prosecutors will open a formal file.

Found in Lugano After an Anonymous Tip

Irving Pineda, a reporter with Azteca Noticias, spent seven days in Switzerland following a tip passed on in an anonymous phone call before confirming that Olán lives in Lugano, the lakeside city in the Italian-speaking south of the country, El Universal reported. The trail led to a red three-storey house on one of the city’s main avenues, with a rooftop pool and an outdoor dining area.

According to Pineda’s account, Olán lives there with his wife, their two children and a housekeeper — and barely leaves the building. “He does not go out, not even to the pool; he is literally hiding,” the reporter said, describing hours in which the businessman stays inside answering messages on his phone while the children walk to school alone. A mailbox at the property carries his name, though without “Amílcar”, the second name by which he is publicly known.

Thirty Seconds, Then a Scuffle

The encounter itself was brief. Pineda approached Olán as he walked with his children after school and asked for 30 seconds. When the reporter mentioned the scandals surrounding him, Olán warned he would call the police, became aggressive and, amid jostling, tried to snatch the equipment with which the moment was being documented, before hurrying away without giving any statement. Images of the encounter were broadcast by Azteca Noticias and described by El Universal on Monday.

Who Is Jorge Amílcar Olán?

Olán is a businessman from Tabasco who gained notoriety through his closeness to Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, the son of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. During the previous administration, companies linked to him won contracts and business with governments and public bodies in fields including infrastructure, materials for railway works and medicines, El Economista reported.

He is accused of exploiting those relationships to obtain public contracts, of selling the ballast used in flagship projects such as the Tren Maya and the Tren Interoceánico, and of supplying materials of doubtful quality. The most recent accusation concerns so-called huachicol fiscal — fuel tax fraud: Portacelis Gas and Oil, a company linked to Olán, was denounced by the SAT tax authority before the FGR after discrepancies were detected between the fuel it brought into the country and what it declared at customs. El Universal has also reported that Olán sought a legal injunction, an amparo, to stop it and 13 other outlets from revealing his business activity.

Sheinbaum’s Careful Answer

Asked at her Monday mañanera whether Olán should be investigated by the FGR, President Sheinbaum chose her words carefully. “Anyone who has proof, the prosecutor’s office, of any illegality, has to open an investigation file, but not because TV Azteca says so; rather because there is evidence that actually links him to a crime,” she said. “If the prosecutor’s office has sufficient elements for any person, anyone, no matter where they come from, to open a file, let it do so; and if there are sufficient elements in the investigation, let it request from a judge what applies.”

The answer puts the burden on the existing SAT complaint and on prosecutors rather than on the presidency — and stops short of ordering an investigation into a figure whose case touches the family of her predecessor and political mentor.

The Reported UIF File and the Swiss Account

On 1 October, the news site Latinus reported that the UIF, the Finance Ministry’s anti-money-laundering office, is investigating Olán. Its report says the file shows an active equity portfolio at UBS Switzerland AG worth €72.04 million (about US$81 million at US$1.125 per euro on 2 October).

Columnist Carlos Loret de Mola repeated the figures in El Universal on 2 October. He wrote that, when the UIF obtained the data, the balance was equal to 1.433 billion pesos (about US$79 million at 18.16 pesos per dollar).

Latinus says Olán declared an annual income of 17.9 million pesos (about US$986,000) to obtain long-term residence in Ticino, where he moved with his family in September 2025. It reports that he pays rent of 200,000 pesos a month (about US$11,000), partly through his sister, and that about 1.5 million pesos (about US$83,000) went to the international school his two children attend, with the period not stated.

The column says the UIF has mapped his government contracts and the agencies that paid him, and places him at the centre of a network Latinus calls “El Clan”.

López Beltrán is not named in the file, Loret de Mola wrote. Expansión reported that Olán’s brother Luis Alberto was flagged as a link to an alleged Jalisco cartel member suspected of fuel smuggling, a claim that remains unproven.

What Officials Have Said Since

On 16 September, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy told reporters at the independence parade that there was no arrest warrant against Olán and no investigation of López Beltrán. On 6 October, Finance Secretary Édgar Amador Zamora, answering senators’ questions, said the UIF had not been required by any authority in the matter and that there were currently no investigations “in that sense” by the prosecutor’s office.

Amador did not name Olán, and several outlets reported his answer as a denial that the UIF is investigating him. On 13 October, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said that, as far as authorities know and according to the latest reports, Olán is “ubicable”, meaning locatable. He added that audio recordings circulating in the media form part of the corresponding investigations, and that the FGR will decide whom else to investigate.

The recordings refer to alleged contact between the Olán family and Iván Cazarín Molina, alias “El Tanque”, whom media describe as an alleged regional operator of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco, in early October, and we could not verify the recordings.

What Happens Now

The SAT’s complaint against Portacelis Gas and Oil, a company linked to Olán, is one of the known complaints before the FGR. Whether the UIF file reaches prosecutors, or Swiss authorities, is still open.

For now Mexico’s prosecutors have the floor. President Sheinbaum has tied her government’s response to the evidence they receive.

What We Could Not Confirm

No FGR investigation file against Olán personally has been publicly confirmed. The UIF file, the Swiss account and the audio recordings rest on media reports, and we could not verify them against official documents.

TV Azteca reported, as relayed by ADN40, that the house in Lugano was empty and up for rent after its story, and Olán’s current whereabouts are unknown. He has given no statement, so his side of the story is absent.

More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jorge Amílcar Olán Aparicio?

A Tabasco businessman known for his closeness to Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, son of former president López Obrador. Companies linked to him won public contracts in infrastructure, railway materials and medicines, and he is accused of influence peddling and, through Portacelis Gas and Oil, of fuel tax irregularities now before the federal prosecutor.

Why did Sheinbaum say the FGR should investigate Amílcar Olán?

Asked after Olán was found in Switzerland, she said prosecutors must open a file when evidence of a crime exists, “not because TV Azteca says so”, and that anyone with proof should present it. She did not announce that an investigation has been opened.

Where was Amílcar Olán found?

In Lugano, Switzerland, where an Azteca Noticias reporter located him after an anonymous tip. Approached for an interview, Olán refused, tried to grab the reporter’s equipment and left without answering questions.

What is Amílcar Olán accused of?

He is accused of using his ties to the former president’s sons to win public contracts, in infrastructure, railway materials and medicines, and of supplying ballast for the Tren Maya and Tren Interoceánico.

Is Amílcar Olán under investigation?

No charge has been announced. Latinus reported on 1 October that the UIF has a file on him, which the UIF has not published or confirmed. On 6 October the Finance Secretary told senators the UIF had not been required by any authority in the matter, and several outlets reported his answer as a denial.

What is the Swiss account in the Amílcar Olán case?

Latinus reported that the UIF found a UBS investment account holding €72.04 million (about US$81 million). The figure comes from one outlet’s access to documents, and neither the UIF nor Olán has confirmed or commented on it.

Connected Coverage

The Olán case adds to the questions over the networks built during the López Obrador years that Sheinbaum inherited.

Who Is Claudia Sheinbaum? Mexico’s President Profiled

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