Pemex and Mexico’s UIF sign pact to combat fuel theft

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), acting through the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to combat financial crimes, corruption, and the illicit fuel market.

Under the agreement, Pemex will provide the UIF with financial, economic, accounting, legal, and administrative data to help identify and prevent money laundering, fraud, and hydrocarbon theft. In return, the UIF will share strategic intelligence products with Pemex to help the state-owned company and its subsidiaries mitigate risks in their financial operations.

The partnership aims to dismantle the economic and logistical networks supporting ‘huachicol’ (fuel theft). This effort aligns with the energy policy led by the Ministry of Energy (Sener) and follows the work of an inter-institutional task force. Addressing the illicit market is a priority, as fuel theft is estimated to affect between 30% and 40% of the gasoline and diesel marketed in the country, impacting national security and public finances.