However, the Magistrate indicated that he is referring the case to the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel, who is ultimately responsible for giving the final approval to the delivery of Karime Macías Tubilla to Mexico.
The Westminster Magistrates Court (London) gave the green light this Thursday to the extradition to Mexico of Karime Macías Tubilla, the former first lady of Veracruz, claimed by the Mexican authorities for alleged fraud.
The judge in the case, Paul Goldspring, said in a court hearing that the evidence is sufficient to warrant extradition.
Mexico requested the extradition of Tubilla, ex-wife of the former Governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte, in relation to some fraud allegedly committed in the State System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), but which she rejects.
Tubilla was in the United Kingdom when in October 2019 he received a police notification to appear at a police station in Westminster, a neighborhood in the center of the British capital, as a result of an extradition order sent through Interpol.
Karime Macías, wife of former Governor Javier Duarte, was arrested in London for extradition to Mexico, for the alleged crime of property damage for 112 million pesos
At that time Tubilla was released on bail, before the legal extradition process began.
During the hearings held in the Westminster Magistrate’s Court, by Judge Paul Goldspring, both Tubilla’s lawyer, Aaron Watkins, and the Mexican government’s, Mark Summers, presented their arguments on the extradition.
According to Watkins, Tubilla was not at the forefront of the alleged fraud in the DIF and argued that extradition has been requested without presenting evidence of the economic crimes he is accused of, but that these are accusations based on suspicion.
Likewise, the lawyer rejected Tubilla’s link with her ex-husband, who has been sentenced to nine years in prison for criminal association and money laundering, and denied that the appointments made by Duarte in the DIF had any connection with his ex-wife.
On the other hand, the lawyer for the Mexican authorities argued that the evidence of fraud is complete and convincing, and mentioned the testimonies of Laura Elena Vega Martínez, who was head of the DIF’s bidding department. Summers also defended the security guarantees offered by the Mexican government.
Macías “had requested political asylum in connection with a series of violations that have been committed since the time of Javier Duarte’s arrest.”
Likewise, he maintained that the accusations made by the Veracruz government against Macías for corruption “have no basis.”
Live “austerely” in London
In May 2018, the former governor of Veracruz, Miguel Ángel Yunes, reported that his government had located Karime Macías and her family in Belgrave, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in London, a few blocks from Buckingham Palace.
Karime Macías’ daily routine, which the Yunes government managed to document, includes taking the children to school, shopping, practicing yoga and going to the gym.
Javier Duarte defended his wife and assured that it is “materially impossible” that he would have had access to public resources.
Karime Macías reappears in London traveling on the subway
The ex-governor said that his family lives “as austerely as possible”, since they pay 80,000 pesos for rent for an apartment, 50,000 pesos for school fees, and 50,000 pesos for medical care.
“He spends about 180 thousand pesos a month, that’s what I have to give them,” he said at the time.
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Source: elsoldemexico.com.mx, sinembargo.mx
