Baja California Orders Review of Contracts After OFAC Designations

–Editorial 

Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda has ordered a review of state contracts involving companies recently designated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and directed that relevant records be sent to the state’s anti-corruption agency.

The state government announced the review Thursday, saying the governor instructed the state’s administrative office to determine whether companies named by OFAC had contractual relationships with the Baja California government.

Any related files will be forwarded to the Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Government for review and possible action under state law, according to the administration.

The governor said contracts involving the companies were awarded based on their legal status and information available in the state’s vendor registry at the time.

“When the contracts were made, they were made according to the information and legal situation available at the time,” Ávila Olmeda said in a statement. She said there were no existing disqualifications, sanctions or other legal restrictions preventing the transactions.

Ávila Olmeda said the OFAC designations represent new information that prompted the state to examine previous contractual relationships and determine whether they created operational, financial or other risks.

The governor also announced a new preventive policy barring individuals or companies identified by Mexican or foreign authorities in connection with suspected criminal activity from participating in state procurement processes until their legal status is formally clarified.

The administration said some of the contracts under review involved equipment, supplies and technical infrastructure used by public safety agencies.

The custody and administration of government security systems and databases remained under the control of authorized state personnel. The administration said it had found no indication that residents’ information was compromised, though it did not provide additional details supporting that conclusion in its statement.

The government also noted that the Baja California Attorney General’s Office operates with constitutional, budgetary and administrative autonomy and is responsible for its own purchasing and document-management procedures.

Ávila Olmeda said the review would determine whether any irregularities occurred and that findings would be referred to the appropriate authorities if necessary.

“The responsible thing to do is review, document and act,” she said. “If any irregularity emerges from this review, action must be taken according to the law.”

The review follows the U.S. government’s recent designation of individuals and businesses under OFAC sanctions authorities. An OFAC designation generally restricts dealings involving property or interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction; it does not by itself establish a criminal conviction.