Mexico freezes Miss Universe president's bank accounts amid criminal probe

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December 6, 2025 | 2:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Mexican government has reportedly frozen the bank accounts of Miss Universe president and co-owner Raul Rocha as part of a criminal investigation involving drugs, fuel and arms trafficking.

The Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (Financial Intelligence Unit), the anti-money laundering office of Mexico under its finance ministry, froze Rocha's local accounts, further casting a cloud over the Miss Universe leadership.

The most recent edition of the pageant saw Mexico win its fourth-ever title through representative Fatima Bosch, a result that many in the pageant community appeared dubious given the performances of other strong contenders.

Allegations were then thrown that Bosch's victory was rigged as some claimed her father struck a business deal with Rocha and a win would benefit them both.

According to federal prosecutors, Rocha has been under investigation since November last year for alleged organized crime activity, including fuel theft, drug trafficking and arms trafficking.

Rocha was among 13 involved in the case issued an arrrest warrant by a federal judge last week.

RELATED: Miss Universe owners in Mexico, Thailand hit with fraud, trafficking claims

Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Garcia Harfuch, however, clarified that there is no indication that the Miss Universe pageant was funded by organized crime.

Meanwhile, Rocha's fellow co-owner of the main Miss Universe franchise, Anne Jakrajutatip, was also issued an arrest warrant, this time by a Thai court for a fraud case connection.

Jakrajutatip, better known as Anne JKN, was largely absent from Miss Universe 2025 despite her native Thailand being the host country as she stepped down as the organization's chief executive officer last October.

She was succeeded by Guatemala's former minister of foreign affairs Mario Búcaro, who was previously the organization's international relations vice president.

Anne JKN did not appear in court last week despite the warrant and was deemed a flight risk by the Bangkok South District Court. Her hearing will now take place on December 26, after Christmas Day.

The Miss Universe Organization's shares are evenly split between Rocha's Legacy Holding Group USA and Anne JKN's JKN Global Group Public Co. Ltd., the latter filing for bankruptcy two years ago.

RELATED: Raul Rocha ‘fed up,’ mulling to sell Miss Universe amid controversies — report