Finance Ministry blocks accounts of former electoral institute chief and associates

Guadalupe Taddei, former president of the National Electoral Institute (INE), and José Alfredo Hernández Casillas, a businessman whose companies received lucrative INE contracts, are reportedly among 25 people who have been added to the Finance Ministry’s Blocked Persons List. The Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) announced on Wednesday that 25 individuals and 15 companies “linked to electoral suppliers” had been added to the Blocked Persons List, meaning that financial institutions must freeze their bank accounts. It didn’t name the individuals or companies. The UIF said in a statement that their inclusion on the list came after the detection of “financial transactions that involve elements of risk and warrant review by the appropriate authorities.” “Inclusion on the Blocked Persons List is a preventive and precautionary administrative measure and does not imply a definitive determination of liability,” the UIF said. “Individuals included on the list are entitled to defense mechanisms and the right to a hearing provided for in applicable legislation.” The UIF’s announcement of the additions to the Blocked Persons List came nine days after Taddei resigned as INE president amid allegations of corruption. Thirty other INE officials, including 17 who worked in Taddei’s office, have also recently resigned. During Taddei’s 2023-2026 tenure at the helm of the electoral authority, companies linked to José Alfredo Hernández Casillas and his brother Raymundo Francisco Hernández Casillas received contracts to supply electoral materials to the INE. The ex-INE president reportedly had a close personal relationship with José Alfredo, with some media outlets speculating that they were romantic partners. National Electoral Institute president resigns as corruption questions mount The Reforma newspaper reported that José Alfredo Hernández Casillas’ companies had obtained electoral authority contracts dating back to the time that Taddei presided over the electoral organization of Sonora between 2014 and 2021. Taddei’s “closeness” to Hernández allowed the latter to obtain contracts awarded by high-ranking INE officials, Reforma reported. In an Oct. 25 statement announcing her resignation, Taddei said she was “aware of the allegations that have circulated in the media and on social media, … including rumors, fabrications, leaks and accounts whose authenticity, context and purpose — as in all cases — must be verified and corroborated.” “… Each allegation must be examined with evidence and through institutional channels,” she said. Taddei, Hernández Casillas brothers reported to be on the Blocked Persons List The newspapers La Jornada and El Universal and various other media outlets reported that Taddei and José Alfredo Hernández Casillas are among the 25 people added to the Finance Ministry’s Blocked Persons List. La Jornada cited “a source with access to the list.” El Universal reported that Raymundo Francisco Hernández Casillas was also added to the list. The UIF said that in light of the “elements of risk” it detected in financial transactions, it filed a complaint with the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) so that the FGR can conduct “the appropriate investigations and determine, in accordance with the law, any potential [criminal] liability.” 📢 #ComunicadoDePrensa La UIF realiza acciones preventivas sobre personas vinculadas con proveedores electorales. La Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, a través de la Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), incorporó a la Lista de Personas Bloqueadas a 40 personas (25 físicas y 15 morales) vinculadas con proveedores electorales. https://t.co/DcPdyl2TU6 🌐 — Hacienda (@Hacienda_Mexico) November 5, 2026 The Federal Auditor’s Office has already launched its own investigation into allegations regarding the “improper use of public resources” by the INE. At her morning press conference last Thursday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Taddei “betrayed the trust of the people of Mexico” by allegedly acting corruptly during her leadership of the INE. She also asserted that “two or three” companies that received contracts to supply materials such as ballot papers and ballot boxes to the INE — i.e. companies linked to the Hernández Casillas brothers — didn’t actually produce the materials themselves but rather acted as “intermediaries.” At the same press conference, Pablo Gómez, head of the Presidential Commission for Electoral Reform and a former UIF chief, made similar remarks. “The companies mentioned don’t have industrial plants. … They don’t make anything. … They’re intermediaries that win contracts and buy everything or go to printers and print everything,” he said. In light of the alleged corruption in the awarding of INE contracts to companies linked to the Hernández Casillas brothers, Sheinbaum said last Thursday that “most electoral materials” should be made by Talleres Gráficos de México, a government-run printing agency. To that end, Sheinbaum said today that her government would present a decree next week to strengthen the agency and its governance. The president has sought to distance her government and the ruling Morena party from Taddei, who has family links to both. Sheinbaum has said that Taddei’s resignation and the scandal engulfing the INE won’t compromise Mexico’s 2027 elections, which are scheduled to take place on June 6. With reports from La Jornada and El Universal