The Property Management and Disposal Service (SAE) auction the home owned by the Mexican-Chinese businessman Zhenli Ye Gon , accused of money laundering and drug trafficking, which was sold for MXN $102 million.
The mansion has 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, three living rooms, a pool, a sauna, three jacuzzis, an elevator, and a wine cellar and is located in Lomas de Chapultepec , the most exclusive neighborhood in Mexico City. The initial price was set at MXN $95 million.
The mansion was bought by Carlos Bremer , a businessman and director of VALUE , a financial group. The mansion will be used by the organization Fundación Butaca Enlac e, which has supported over 2 million athletes .
President López Obrador
had previously announced that the money obtained through the auction will be allocated for 544 scholarships for athletes but it seems like the resources won't be enough to fund the scholarships for the athletes who represented Mexico at the 2019 Pan American Games .
The infamous home was transferred to the SAE in 2012 after millions of dollars were found inside the home in 2007.
Zhenli Ye Gon
was the owner of United Pharm Chem . Mexican and U.S. authorities accused him of producing meth and selling it to drug traffickers , as well as using his company to launder the money he obtained. Although the Attorney General's Office linked him to the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels , authorities haven't been able to prove the link, even a federal judge in Washington dismissed the drug trafficking charges against him because there was no evidence and three of the witnesses retracted their statements.
In 2007, officers from Federal Police caught Zhenli Ye Gon hiding USD $207 million in cash in the master bedroom.
Nevertheless, the home has been abandoned and requires maintenance and repair works, therefore, the future owners will have to invest between MXN $1 or MXN $2 millions to fix the mansion .
On July 31, a few days after the auction was announced, the Mexican-Chinese businessman Zhenli Ye Gon requested an amparo to prevent the expropriation of the mansion, which will be auctioned today.
The SAE issued a statement and explained that since the property was abandoned , it is possible to sell it and said that Zhenli Ye Gon's amparo hasn't been admitted: “before a property is declared as abandoned, the owners have 90 days to claim their rights, in this case, the legal term expired and no legal action was taken to contest the abandonment.”
The SAE also mentioned that another property abandoned by the businessman was auctioned in 2014. During the auction, the government obtained MXN $181 million and Zhenli Ye Gon didn't try to prevent the auction.
Zhenli Ye Go
n is currently accused of money laundering and is being held at the Almoloya de Juárez priso n.
gm