Cruz Azul President Accused of Money Laundering, Involvement in Organized Crime

An arrest warrant has been issued for Cruz Azul president Guillermo Alvarez, according to ESPN's Tom Marshall. 

Mexico's attorney general's office issued a warrant on Thursday, accusing Alvarez of "involvement in financial fraud and organized crime," per Marshall. Alvarez will reportedly appear in front of a judge at the Altiplano maximum security prison, though he has not been taken to jail as of Thursday afternoon.

Alvarez, 74, is the general director of the Cruz Azul cement corporation, which runs the Liga MX club. Alvarez's bank accounts were frozen by the Mexican government in May. He denied all wrongdoing in a video released by the club in June, noting Cruz Azul has been subjected to "defamation and slander."

"I join the energetic rejection of the defamation and slander to which our beloved company has been subjected," Alvarez said. "Once again, [claims of] manipulation and defamation seek to alter our social peace, our obligations and economic rights as workers, generating an adverse media opinion that could have altered our course of success and development."

In a statement released Thursday, Liga MX clarified that the investigation is in relation to Alvarez's role as president of Cooperativa Cruz Azul–the cement company that owns the club–and not in relation to his role as president of the club. The club is not open to discipline, and the league will cooperate with the authorities as required.

Cruz Azul has not won a Liga MX title since 1997. The league canceled its 2020 Clausura season in May amid the COVID-19 crisis with Cruz Azul leading the table at the time. It won its first game after the restart in Mexico, opening the Apertura season with a 2-0 win over Santos Laguna on Sunday.