Joaquín Velázquez, former technical assistant for Cruz Azul, is out of jail

• Joaquín Velázquez from the Cruz Azul professional soccer team is now free.
• No evidence was found against Juan Reynoso’s technical assistant.
• He had been charged with alleged money laundering.

On Monday night a federal judge released Óscar Joaquín Velázquez Elvira, former assistant to Cruz Azul coach Juan Reynoso, due to the fact that there is not enough evidence to prove that he is part of a criminal organization that laundered more than 6 billion pesos, according to Agencia Reforma and ESPN.

The control judge Iván Zeferín Hernández, of the Federal Criminal Justice Center of Almoloya de Juárez, determined yesterday that Velázquez would not be tried for organized crime and money laundering, judicial officials reported.

WHY WAS JOAQUÍN VELÁZQUEZ ACCUSED?

The Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) charged Joaquín Velázquez, former Cruz Azul technical assistant, with participating in a network of «dummy» companies that, from 2013 to December 2018, carried out simulated operations adding up to more than 6 billion pesos through various banking institutions.

The investigation, carried out by the Fiscalía Especializada en Materia de Delincuencia Organizada (FEMDO), is identified as «Los Altos de Jalisco». Velázquez was specifically accused of having signed public documents of incorporation for the fake companies before a Puebla notary. The companies then triangulated and laundered the funds of illicit origin over a five year period.

WHY WAS HE SET FREE?

At yesterday’s hearing, Judge Zeferín estimated that, at the time the legal entities that laundered the resources were formed, Velázquez was living and working in the United States. Thus it would be impossible for him to be in Puebla signing the notarial documents.

The judge, however, established that the criminal acts have been proven. That is, that there is evidence to suggest that the laundering structure exposed by the FGR exists. However, there was no way to link Velázquez to it because he was out of the country. Filed Under: Joaquin Velazquez Cruz Azul

HAS HIS CAREER BEEN SUCCESSFUL?

After the ruling, the accused left the Penal Federal del Altiplano where he had been imprisoned since Tuesday. According to federal authorities, the FGR will file an appeal against Velázquez’s release and is considering filing a complaint against the judge before the Federal Judiciary Council.

The former assistant to the Peruvian director was removed from the team on Tuesday when he was about to leave for the Estadio Azteca, where Cruz Azul played the second match of the Concachampions Semifinals against Pumas. La Noria club decided to cut ties with the Reynoso assistant. After his arrest, he was willing to cooperate with the investigation.

WHAT OTHER TEAMS HAS HE SUPPORTED?

Velázquez was also a technical assistant in Toluca, with Hernán Cristante from Apertura 2016 to Clausura 2019. He worked with Reynoso in Puebla, between Apertura 2019 and Apertura 2020, so he has been a fundamental part of the teams he worked with.

Recently the directive of the Máquina Cementera, analyzed his situation to see if he could return to the bench as an assistant since he had been let go after his arrest. Since there is no evidence, against him it’s very likely he will return to his former position.

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