As controversies continue to trail the organisation of this year’s beauty pageant, arrest warrants have been issued for Miss Universe co-owners, Raúl Rocha Cantú and Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip.
The latest twist in pageant saga indicates that while Rocha is under investigation for drug, gun and fuel trafficking, Jakrajutatip is facing fraud accusations from the authorities.
Rocha, the Mexican businessman, owns half of the Miss Universe Organisation, with other half of the Miss Universe Organisation owned by Thai media mogul, Jakrajutatip.
With its onstage injuries, dramatic walkouts and allegations of vote rigging, this year’s edition of Miss Universe was already one primed for disputations.
And it turns out that the drama had barely begun as just days after Fátima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand, the co-owners of the organisation are both facing arrest warrants.
On Wednesday, Mexican media revealed that Rocha was under investigation for drug, gun and fuel trafficking between Guatemala and Mexico.
When asked about the case by El País, Rocha, whose conglomerate spans industry, casinos and the beauty pageant, denied any wrongdoing, saying: “It is completely false that I have an arrest warrant”.
However, Rocha’s response came shortly before the country’s Attorney General confirmed the existence of an investigation against him.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the arrest orders had been issued for 13 people, among them “Raúl R, about whom there have been various public reports”.
On her part, Jakrajutatip was this week also issued with an arrest warrant Thai Court. A plastic surgeon is accusing her of fraud, claiming that she concealed information when persuading them to invest in her company, JKN Global Group.
A verdict for the case was due on Tuesday, but Jakkaphong failed to appear in court, prompting the judge to order her arrest.
The court deemed the Media mogul a flight risk, even as her whereabouts remain unclear as the twists in a singularly dramatic edition of the Miss Universe competition continue to unfold.
At the start of November, Bosch, then Miss Mexico, went viral when she staged a walkout after being berated as “dumb” by the pageant’s director, who singled her out for failing to post promotional content.
After a public outcry, the director gave a tearful apology and claimed he had been misunderstood, and the Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum, described Bosch as an “example of how we women should speak out”.
Fátima Bosch wearing an ornate red and gold full length dress, with the Miss Universe crown on her head
Fátima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe but allegations of vote rigging cast a shadow on her win. She defeated the crowd favourite, Miss Thailand, to win the crown, only for allegations of vote rigging to cast a shadow on her triumph.
Days before the final, two of the eight judges quit, with one suggesting that the vote was rigged. The other cited “unforeseen personal reasons”.
Mexican media have also reported on business ties between Rocha and Pemex, the Mexican state oil company where Bosch’s father has worked for decades, prompting Rocha and Bosch’s father to deny that there are any business ties between them personally.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum again came to Bosch’s defence. “[Any investigation of Rocha] is independent of the young woman who won the competition. They want to connect them, but they are different. They want to detract from her achievement.” – With The Guardian report
