WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former Mexican governor told a U.S. court that he took bribes in Mexico adding up to more than $3.5 million and used the money to buy real estate in the United States, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday.
Tomas Yarrington, who governed the state of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2005, admitted on Thursday to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Jennifer Lowery said in a statement.
As part of his plea, Yarrington admitted to accepting bribes from individuals and private companies to do business with the state of Tamaulipas while he served as governor, Lowery said. He used the money to buy properties in the United States, including a condominium, the prosecutor said.
Yarrington faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
The former governor was arrested in Italy in 2017 while traveling under an assumed name and was extradited to the United States in 2018.
(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
