The General Prosecutor's Office detained María Vanesa Pedraza Madrid, identified as a former collaborator of Genaro García Luna, for her alleged involvement in operations with illicit funds and organized crime. The arrest took place in the Benito Juárez borough of Mexico City.
The General Prosecutor's Office (FGR) confirmed the detention of María ‘N’, known as María Vanesa Pedraza Madrid, this Wednesday. She is accused of involvement in crimes of operations with illicit funds and organized crime, according to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO).
According to investigations, María Vanesa served as the legal representative of the company Nunvav, which allegedly used the financial system to launder resources from organized crime and divert funds from the federal public administration. The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) had previously pointed out that Nunvav was used to divert 2.678 billion pesos and 74 million dollars from the federal government.
María Vanesa worked in the decentralized body for prevention and social readaptation from 2001 to 2008, and later joined the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) as part of the coordination of advisors to Genaro García Luna, from 2001 to 2012. She was appointed as proxy for Nunvav in October 2019 during a shareholders' assembly in Panama, according to documents from Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI).
García Luna, former head of the SSP during Felipe Calderón's government, was sentenced in the United States to more than 38 years in prison for protecting the Sinaloa Cartel and accepting millions of dollars in bribes. In May 2022, it was determined that he and his wife, Cristina Pereyra, would pay 2.5 billion dollars for an illegal contracting scheme in Mexico.
After her detention in Benito Juárez, Mexico City, she was informed of her constitutional rights and transferred to Social Readaptation Center No. 16 in Coatlán del Río, Morelos.
