The Miss Universe beauty pageant has been thrust into fresh controversy only days after it concluded, with both co-owners accused in separate legal cases involving fraud and alleged links to trafficking networks.
The competition wrapped up in Thailand last week, ending with a victory for Miss Mexico amid heightened drama, including a public confrontation between the eventual winner and the contest host.
On Wednesday, an official of a Thai court told AFP that an arrest warrant had been issued a day earlier for the pageant’s co-owner and media executive, Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, over alleged fraud amounting to $930,000.
A plastic surgeon accused Jakapong of misleading him by concealing information while encouraging him to invest in her company, JKN Global Group, which co-owns the Miss Universe brand.
Also on Wednesday, the federal prosecutor’s office in Mexico confirmed that the other co-owner, businessman Raul Rocha Cantu, was under investigation for alleged arms, drug, and fuel trafficking.
“Key information is being obtained that will allow the federal public prosecutor’s office to continue and delve deeper into this investigation,” the agency said in a statement.
Authorities added that arrest warrants had been issued for 13 defendants, though none were officially named. Mexican media reported that Rocha was among those being sought by police.
Reports also suggested that Rocha had previous business dealings with the father of newly crowned Miss Universe, Fatima Bosch.
Her father, Bernando Bosch, a senior executive at Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex, strongly denied any such connection to Rocha.
Earlier in the competition, Bosch made headlines after leading a dramatic walkout during a meeting between contestants and the pageant’s Thai director, Nawat Itsaragrisil.
Nawat was filmed publicly criticising her for allegedly failing to post promotional content on social media, calling her a “dumbhead.”
Bosch’s stance won praise across Mexico and abroad, including support from President Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female head of state.
However, on Tuesday, the 25-year-old titleholder said she had received “insults, attacks, and even death threats” following accusations about her father’s alleged links to the pageant’s business owners.
The Miss Universe competition was previously owned by former US president Donald Trump. It was purchased in 2022 by Jakapong’s JKN Global Group for $20 million, before half its stake was sold to Rocha Cantu’s Legacy Holding Group USA for $16 million.
