Ernesto Ruffo granted house arrest in Ensenada
Original reporting: El Imparcial
What happened
A federal judge granted Ernesto Ruffo Appel house arrest in Ensenada while he continues facing prosecution over alleged fiscal fuel fraud.
Reporting and context
Former Baja California Gov. Ernesto Ruffo Appel is expected to leave the Altiplano federal prison in the coming days after a judge granted him house arrest in Ensenada while his criminal case continues. According to El Imparcial, Judge Alejandra Ramírez de la Vega of the Federal Criminal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez approved the change during a hearing to review precautionary measures.
The ruling removes the mandatory pretrial detention that had kept Ruffo at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, known as the Altiplano, in the State of Mexico. His defense said the administrative steps for his release had begun and estimated that it could take place within 38 hours. The defense also presented a medical report concerning Ruffo’s health, which attorney Juan Marcos Gutiérrez said had been endorsed by the Attorney General’s Office, or FGR.
El Imparcial reported that Ruffo faces prosecution over his alleged role as the head of a network involved in “fiscal huachicol,” a form of tax-related fuel fraud. The change in precautionary measures does not end the criminal proceedings or resolve the allegations; Ruffo will continue facing the case from his home in Ensenada.