Imagine this: you are at the top, owner of one of the most famous beauty pageants on the planet, where everything is crown, glitter and smiles on the cover. And suddenly, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of Mexico appears like that friend who arrives at the party to collect the money he lent him from you. This is how the Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú is living his moment, whose reign in Miss Universe has just received a bath of reality (and ice) with the freezing of all his bank accounts in the country. The reason? A juicy investigation by the Attorney General’s Office that links him to a trio of unglamorous activities: drug trafficking, arms trafficking and fuel theft (the famous ‘huachicol’, for the guys). Because, apparently, it is not enough to organize competitions; Some want to diversify their portfolio towards, let’s say, less photogenic businesses.
From the crown to the penal code: the details that do not appear on television
It turns out that this financial blockade is not a whim. The UIF, that organization that is dedicated to hunting down money laundering as if it were a video game, acted after an investigation open since November of last year. A federal judge had already issued arrest warrants against several people involved, including our protagonist. But here there is a soap opera twist: according to the newspaper Reforma, Rocha Cantú would have asked to be a collaborating witness. Basically, the classic “I’ll help you if you help me.” The Prosecutor’s Office, in spoiler mode, has not confirmed anything, leaving us all in suspense.
And as if the alleged organized crime were not enough, Rocha Cantú’s dark resume includes a tragic episode: the attack on the Casino Royale in Monterrey in 2011, where 52 people died. He was a partner in the companies that operated the place. The intellectual author of that massacre, Baltazar Saucedo Estrada, was sentenced to 135 years in prison. A past that definitely does not fit on the LinkedIn profile of a beauty mogul.
Miss Universe: when the scandal is more viral than the winner
It seems that bad luck (or bad decisions) are contagious at the top of this contest. While in Mexico they freeze accounts, in Thailand they issued an arrest warrant against the co-owner, Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, for accusations of financial fraud. Her company, JKN Global Group, which bought the rights to Miss Universe in 2022, sold exactly half to Rocha Cantú’s company. A circle of ownership as tangled as the threads of a crown.
To top off the year, the 2025 edition of the contest was a live reality drama: Mexican winner Fatima Bosch received a public reprimand, two judges left the show suggesting manipulation, and Thai police investigated whether there was illegal promotion of online casinos during the event. In other words, from the blue carpet to the police investigation in a flash.
In short, what we have here is a perfect cocktail of glamour, opaque finances and judicial processes. A reminder that, sometimes, behind the shine of the spotlights and perfect smiles, there can be much less luminous operations. The Mexican UIF put a stop to Rocha Cantú’s financial party, demonstrating that, in the fight against money laundering, not even the owners of beauty queens are safe.
Were you surprised by this news that mixes show business with justice? Share this article on your social networks so that more people know the B side of beauty pageants. And be sure to explore our news section for more stories where reality is stranger than fiction.




