Miss Universe Co-Owner Raúl Rocha Cantú Faces Second Arrest Warrant Over Nearly 3 Billion Pesos in Alleged Money Laundering

Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico — A federal judge has issued a second arrest warrant for Raúl Rocha Cantú, co-owner of the Miss Universe organization, on charges of organized crime and money laundering involving nearly 3 billion pesos (about US$160 million) moved between 2014 and 2025.

Judge Ricardo Alfonso Santos Dorantes issued the order against Rocha Cantú and his son, Mauricio Jesús Rocha Botello, who serves as president of Miss Universe Mexico, for transactions involving funds of illicit origin. The warrant was handed down by the Federal Criminal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez, in the State of Mexico.

Investigators say the case centers on a financial scheme that operated for 11 years and moved roughly 3 billion pesos allegedly tied to organized crime. The ruling also names six other individuals who, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FGR), acted as operators of the commercial companies used to receive the money.

Who is named in the warrant

• Raúl Rocha Cantú — shareholder, founder and secretary of GI Euromex; majority shareholder of Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur; president of Legacy Equity Group.
• Mauricio Jesús Rocha Botello — president of Miss Universe Mexico.
• Andrés Javier Vázquez Ruiz — described as a supervisor and co-leader of the business network.
• Alberto Charlan Salazar — described as a supervisor and co-leader of the business network.
• Heliodoro Vargas Durán — assigned supervisory duties within the corporate structure.
• Luis Aquilino Vásquez — assigned supervisory duties within the corporate structure.

Six companies named as recipients

According to FGR records reported by the newspaper Reforma, the network channeled the money through a set of companies: GI Euromex, which served as the collecting entity; Impulsora Eagle; Legacy Equity Group; Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur; Operadora de Alimentos y Bebidas Naucalpan; and Operadora de Alimentos y Bebidas Malibú.

The FGR alleges that Rocha Cantú, Vázquez Ruiz and Charlan Salazar ran the operation, while the remaining co-defendants handled oversight duties inside the companies.

Earlier arms and fuel trafficking case

The money laundering warrant adds to an earlier case that already has Rocha Cantú listed as a fugitive. A first arrest warrant was issued on Dec. 15, 2025, for organized crime in the form of arms and fuel trafficking.

Facing that charge, Rocha Cantú sought to be accepted as a cooperating witness for the FGR, an arrangement that the federal agency later revoked. The reversal came after Ernestina Godoy took over as head of the FGR.

His defense then filed amparo 1231/2025, and a First District judge in criminal matters in Nuevo León granted a suspension that froze the case, temporarily blocking his arrest on the arms and fuel trafficking file.

In August, the defense said the FGR had decided not to pursue criminal charges. The prosecutor’s office denied that account in September and confirmed that the investigation into fuel theft and arms trafficking remains open.

Because the new money laundering case is a separate file, the arrest warrant tied to the 3 billion pesos remains in force.