(Bloomberg) — Supreme Court magistrate Eduardo Medina Mora, who is being investigated by Mexico’s financial intelligence unit for transfers to bank accounts in the U.S. and U.K., resigned his post on Thursday October 3rd, Reforma newspaper reported citing people it did not identify.
The high court said it had not received confirmation of a resignation, which would require approval by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the Senate, according to a statement.
Medina Mora, 62, has been Mexico’s attorney general, security minister and ambassador to the U.S. and the U.K. Then President Enrique Pena Nieto nominated him to the high court in 2015 for a 15-year term.
His resignation took Medina Mora’s colleagues by surprise as he had participated in court proceedings earlier Thursday, Reforma said.
Medina Mora in June said the alleged transfers to U.S. and U.K. bank accounts added up to around 7.5 million pesos and not 103 million pesos as alleged, Reforma reported then. In a letter to colleagues, Medina Mora said those amounts were consistent with his income in the period in which he made the transfers. Medina Mora said the information on his transfers was obtained illegally.
Lopez Obrador could during his term in office nominate four magistrates of 11 on the high court, strengthening his grip on the judicial branch, Reforma said. He already has majorities in both houses of Congress and enjoys an approval rating of around 60%.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom with information from Bloomberg
