Calls Grow for Criminal Investigations by Mexican Regulators into Alleged Stock Market Fraud
Serious allegations are mounting against billionaire businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego, following widespread reports that he fraudulently orchestrated the delisting of Grupo Elektra from the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) to secretly accumulate shares at a deep discount—at the direct expense of public shareholders, pension funds, and institutional investors.
Over the past year, Grupo Elektra’s share price plummeted from over MXN 1,600 to as low as MXN 186, sparking concern and investor panic. What initially appeared to be a market-driven decline now shows signs of a deliberate crash allegedly engineered by Salinas through insider transactions and undisclosed agreements. After manipulating the price downward, he is believed to have repurchased shares privately at rock-bottom prices.
This fabricated collapse paved the way for Salinas to forcefully delist Grupo Elektra under false pretenses—evading regulatory scrutiny and eliminating transparency while shutting out minority shareholders from any recovery. Legal experts have labeled the scheme classic market manipulation, urging Mexico’s CNBV (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) and the Prosecutor General’s Office to launch full criminal investigations.
“This is not corporate restructuring—it is looting. Salinas defrauded the market by crashing Elektra’s stock, then used his control to delist it while buying it all up very cheap. It’s robbery dressed as finance, a total scam,” said one former shareholder.
A History of Deceit and Abuse:
This is not Salinas’s first encounter with allegations of fraud and misconduct:
- 2005 – Charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to disclose illicit profits from related-party transactions. Salinas settled for $7.5 million USD and was barred from serving as an officer of any U.S. public company.
- A Wall Street Journal report described him as “a man repeatedly linked to opaque business deals, scandals, deceit, and financial manipulation.”
- 2022 – Grupo Elektra was fined for accounting irregularities, and Banco Azteca lost its banking licenses in Peru and Brazil due to non-compliance and alleged financial misconduct.
- 2024–2025 – Salinas and his legal team were implicated in a covert surveillance operation involving the private spy agency Black Cube, allegedly targeting opposing counsel in a UK legal dispute over Elektra shares.
Shareholder Outrage and Legal Ramifications
The fraudulent delisting has left thousands of public investors facing devastating losses. Legal analysts say Salinas abused his control of the board, bypassed minority shareholder protections, conducted sham private meetings, and concealed plans to take the company private at a massively undervalued price.
Former shareholders are now organizing legal action in Mexico, Europe, and the United States, citing market manipulation, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of securities law. U.S. institutional investors who held Grupo Elektra ADRs are reportedly preparing class action lawsuits.
In light of the severity of these allegations, we call on:
- CNBV, UIF, and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) to initiate criminal investigations;
- The U.S. SEC and Department of Justice to examine potential violations of cross-border securities and wire fraud statutes;
- The media and public to hold Salinas accountable for what may be one of the most cynical acts of market fraud in Mexico’s modern history.
Call to Action
Public shareholders, regulators, prosecutors, and journalists must take note: Ricardo Salinas Pliego has a long-documented record of fraud, deception, regulatory evasion, and market abuse. His latest maneuver—the fraudulent delisting of Grupo Elektra—is not a business decision. It is a criminal scheme cloaked in corporate formality.
The time for silence is over. The time for criminal accountability has come.
Media Contact:
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Anonymous Legal & Financial Watchdog Group
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