ASF Audit Reveals PEMEX Financial Irregularities

The Federal Audit Office (ASF) identified irregularities in federal and state administrations amounting to MX$563.64 million. This first review, which includes 68 of the 2,258 planned audits, uncovered anomalies exceeding MX$605 million (US$35 million), although MX$42.1 million were recovered. The sectors with the most inconsistencies include education, communications, transportation, and PEMEX. According to the report, the Fund for Contributions to Technological and Adult Education (FAETA) has MX$457.8 million in question.

For PEMEX, irregularities amounting to MX$168.205 million were identified in the maintenance program for the Cactus Gas Processing Complex in Chiapas. ASF highlighted significant inconsistencies in the management of maintenance for this complex, which has the largest capacity for processing sour gas in Mexico. The ASF issued a Promotion of Sanctioning Administrative Responsibility, urging the Responsibilities Unit of the company to investigate these irregularities and, if warranted, initiate the appropriate administrative procedures against the involved public officials.

The audit revealed that although MX$460.587 million were reported for the maintenance project, this amount differed by MX$151.156 million from what was documented. ASF identified another MX$17.049 million that needed clarification for various documented works. These irregularities add to anomalies found in three different programs of the CFE, which were also reviewed by ASF.

Last year, ASF detected financial irregularities in PEMEX's operations, noting an amount of MX$62.44 million that requires clarification in relation to the maintenance and utilization of residuals at the Tula refinery. In audit No. 231, which specifically assessed compliance with physical investments from 2019 to 2023 concerning maintenance and waste utilization at the Tula Refinery in Hidalgo, ASF highlighted three irregular payments. While acknowledging PEMEX Industrial Transformation's overall adherence to legal and regulatory provisions, ASF flagged three instances of excess payments, the absence of formalizing the extinction of rights and obligations, and the termination of contract DCPA-OP-SILN-SPR-CPMAC-A-1-14. The latter issue involved formalized temporary suspensions leading to non-recoverable expenses amounting to MX$546,532.6