Mexico, Mar 9 (EFE) .- The special auditor of the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), Agustín Caso, who was suspended due to erroneous calculations in the costs of the cancellation of the New Mexico International Airport (NAIM), denied this Tuesday that there has been “fraud” in the revision of the figures.
“I firmly state that there was no fraud or political motivation in the audit team,” said Caso in his appearance before the Chamber of Deputies and appealed to his 50 years of experience during which he had not been sanctioned.
Last month, the Audit detailed that the cancellation by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the NAIM, a work initiated by his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, had a cost 232% higher than the Government’s forecast, amounting to more than 331,996 million pesos (about 15,665 million dollars).
However, the López Obrador government responded that the report contained errors equivalent to 75% of the cost overrun, and the Audit itself admitted “inconsistencies.”
Caso defended this Tuesday that the methodology used for the estimate that he said “is based on the expenses involved in the cancellation process.”
“I do not come to defend a figure tooth and nail,” added Caso and assured that his intention was not “to impute any illegal conduct to an entity or a government” and that the presentation of the figures “in no way implies an attack on the investiture presidential”.
Precisely before the figures, López Obrador, two days later, assured that the data published by the Audit on irregularities in his Government were incorrect and exaggerated.
In a letter addressed to the Chamber of Deputies, López Obrador said that such an error was not only due to a technical deficiency “but also to a political intention.”
Subsequently, on March 1, the head of the ASF, David Colmenares, appeared in the Chamber of Deputies to explain the alleged inconsistencies and that same day the Audit temporarily ceased Caso as a special auditor.
This Tuesday the suspended auditor pointed out that the purpose of performance audits “is to provide recommendations to improve public management.”
He specified that the final payment for the cancellation of the NAIM could be extended for more than 25 years and pointed out that for the good of the country the cancellation process “must be made transparent.”
In addition, his speech occurred in tune with that of Colmenares, who on March 1 insisted that there was “no type of bad faith” in his work, and recalled that the Mexico City Airport Group did not present any objection to it. during its production process.
(c) EFE Agency
