Mexico: Sheinbaum Opens Door to Probe of AMLO-Linked Businessman Amílcar Olán
Mexico · Politics
Key Facts
—Found. Jorge Amílcar Olán Aparicio, a Tabasco businessman close to Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, son of former president López Obrador, has been located living in Lugano, Switzerland, by Azteca Noticias reporter Irving Pineda.
—The confrontation. Approached for an interview, Olán refused, warned he would call the police, tried to grab the reporter’s recording equipment and left without answering questions.
—The accusations. Olán 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; his company Portacelis Gas and Oil has been denounced by the SAT tax authority before the federal prosecutor over fuel-import discrepancies.
—Sheinbaum’s answer. President Claudia Sheinbaum said anyone with evidence of illegality should present it and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) must open a file if evidence exists — “not because TV Azteca says so”.
—Status. No formal investigation has been announced; Olán remains in Switzerland and has given no statement.
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.
What Happens Now
As of Monday, no formal investigation file against Olán had been announced; the SAT’s complaint against Portacelis Gas and Oil is the one concrete legal proceeding known to be before the FGR. Whether Swiss residency becomes an issue in any future extradition scenario is a question for later — for now, Mexico’s prosecutors have the floor, and the president has publicly tied her government’s response to the evidence they receive.
What We Could Not Confirm
No FGR investigation file against Olán has been formally confirmed as opened. The full scale of the contracts linked to him has not been laid out in any court document we could review, and the accusations rest on media investigations and the SAT complaint as reported by El Economista and El Universal. Olán himself has given no statement — his side of the story is absent. The current status of the amparo proceedings against El Universal and other outlets was not immediately verifiable.
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.
Sources
Connected Coverage
The Olán case adds to the questions over the networks built during the López Obrador years that Sheinbaum inherited.
Sources: El Economista; El Universal.
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