Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Deputy and former Veracruz Finance Secretary during Javier Duarte’s administration Antonio Tarek Abdala is accused of the alleged diversion of 23 billion pesos ($1.1 billion) by the prosecutor’s office of that entity.
Tarek Abdala faces a demand to remove his “fuero” (legislative immunity), an exemption from prosecution than Mexican politicians have and that can only be rescinded by a majority vote of their peers in the chamber.
The Chamber of Deputies reported that both the accused and the Veracruz state prosecution have five days to present the evidence and then will have 25 days to present evidence.
Tarek Abdala says that he is innocent, did not commit any crime and does not agree with the demand to remove his legislative immunity that the Veracruz Prosecutor’s Office is seeking against him.