A Federal Judge Orders an Indefinite Suspension of the Arrest Warrant Against Alejandro Irarragorri for the "SAT-Santos Laguna Case"

Federal judge Advento Hernández Reyna resolved to definitively suspend the arrest warrant issued in April against Alejandro Irarragorri, president of Orlegi Sports and former president of Club Santos Laguna. This decision means that the trial for the businessman’s injunction request will continue.

According to the newspaper Reforma, the application of preventive imprisonment against Irarragorri was also ruled out in the event that it was imposed during his presentation before the Control Judge of Torreón, in relation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s complaint for an alleged tax fraud of close to US$700,000. Both Club Santos and the executive himself have categorically rejected such accusation.

On April 25, Santos Laguna – an entity owned by Orlegi Sports – issued a statement clarifying that the alleged arrest warrant was linked to an absence attributed to Alejandro Irarragorri in a hearing convened by District Judge Luis Alfredo Mendoza García, in Torreón. However, the Club indicated that it was a misunderstanding, since on March 20 he did participate in a virtual hearing held in due time and form.

Alejandro Irarragorri’s Legal Strategy in the SAT-Santos Conflict

During that judicial meeting, the Judge decided to interrupt the hearing and set a new one for March 24. The businessman’s legal team argues that, since there was no formal warning, the absence in that second hearing did not justify the imposition of precautionary measures. For this reason, they filed an injunction before a federal court in the following weeks.

Judge Hernández Reyna based his decision on the lack of evidence suggesting that Alejandro Irarragorri was trying to evade justice, and therefore authorized that his hearing be held by videoconference, in compliance with due process and guaranteeing his appearance.

Likewise, the court determined that a pre-trial detention is not justified without a prior analysis of the arguments presented by the defense. Reforma highlights that this resolution validates the willingness of the executive to face the legal proceedings, and therefore it is not appropriate to impose premature sanctions on a representative of Club Santos Laguna, a leading national soccer institution.

The case has its origin in an investigation initiated by the Attorney General’s Office in 2023, following a complaint filed by SAT, which resulted in a criminal charge against the Club and Alejandro Irarragorri.

However, the background of the conflict dates back to 2020, when the SAT began audits to Club Santos Laguna for ISR-related issues. Since then, an administrative process has developed as a result of interpretative differences between both parties on various aspects of the tax legislation.
In its official position, the lagoon institution strongly rejected that an administrative difference of this type – susceptible of being resolved through the corresponding legal channels – should be transferred to the criminal sphere.