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Former Mexican governor may be expelled from PRI over corruption allegations


    Mexico City, Jun 5 (EFE).- Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, may expel former Tabasco Gov. Andres Granier, who has been accused of corruption, a party leader said.

    "We have not done it, but perhaps it will happen soon," PRI National Executive Committee chairman Cesar Camacho told Radio Formula.

    Prosecutors in Tabasco ordered Granier, whose whereabouts is unknown, to answer questions about alleged misuse of public funds during his 2007-2012 term.

    The former governor, however, failed to show up last Thursday for questioning

    Granier skipped the appointment because he was not "cited legally," his attorney, Eduardo Lugo Creel, told a Tabasco radio station.

    Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nuñez said in February that an audit of Granier's administration found 1.91 billion pesos ($152 million) was missing.

    The missing funds were transferred from the federal government to Tabasco but never reached the agencies they were intended for, Nuñez said.

    Both Nuñez and Granier are PRI members.

    Granier "is someone who not only does harm to the PRI," but also to politics, public service and Tabasco's people, Camacho said.

    The PRI's Party Justice Committee will make a decision on Granier in the next few weeks, Camacho said.

    The federal Finance Secretariat and Attorney General's Office are also investigating the allegations of corruption in Tabasco.