Mexico detains ex‑prison official for multi‑billion peso fraud linked to García Luna

On Thursday, Mexican authorities captured Antonio (also reported as Alfonso) Molina Díaz, former general coordinator of the Federal Center for Social Readaptation, in a raid in the Anáhuac neighbourhood of Mexico City. The operation was coordinated by the Federal Prosecutor's Office (FGR) and the Secretariat of Security and Protection, and agents recovered false identification documents, mobile phones, US$2,500 and more than 36,000 pesos.

Prosecutors allege Molina Díaz was part of a corruption network headed by former security secretary Genaro García Luna. The network used shell companies to channel public funds from contracts to build eight federal prisons in several states, inflating costs and granting long‑term concessions that benefitted private firms and businessmen. The scheme is suspected of diverting at least 5 billion pesos (some estimates up to 266 billion) from the Treasury.

Molina Díaz has been transferred to the high‑security Altiplano prison in Almoloya de Juárez and will appear before a federal judge. The investigation remains open for other former officials, family members and companies tied to the alleged fraud.