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Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip and Raúl Rocha Cantú face legal action over fraud and trafficking allegations
Shahana YasminThursday 27 November 2025 11:02 GMTComments
CloseMiss Universe contestants walk out after Miss Mexico ‘humiliated’
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The co-owners of the Miss Universe Organisation are facing legal action on two continents after courts in Thailand and prosecutors in Mexico issued arrest warrants linked to fraud and alleged drug, weapons and fuel trafficking allegations.
The latest Miss Universe pageant, held in Bangkok earlier this month, was marred by weeks of controversy.
Thai media mogul Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, whose JKN Global Group owns half of the Miss Universe Organisation, is now the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Bangkok South Civil Court on 26 November.
She was due to appear for a hearing in a fraud case on 25 November but did not show up, leading the court to issue the warrant, according to the Associated Press. The case was filed by Raweewat Maschamado, who said Jakrajutatip persuaded him to buy corporate bonds even though her company allegedly couldn’t repay them, causing losses of 30 million baht (£704,322).
Jakrajutatip was first charged in 2023 and released on bail. However, the court said that her failure to appear this week made her a flight risk.
The hearing has now been rescheduled for 26 December.
Her whereabouts are unknown. She did not attend the 74th Miss Universe pageant, despite being the organisation’s largest shareholder.
open image in galleryAnne Jakapong Jakrajutatip is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Bangkok South Civil Court (Getty)According to the Associated Press, JKN defaulted on payments to investors starting in 2023 and entered debt rehabilitation with the Central Bankruptcy Court in 2024. The company owes about 3 billion baht (£70.43m).
Jakrajutatip resigned from all company positions in June after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused her of falsifying JKN’s 2023 financial statements, though she retained her stake.
In Mexico, co-owner Raúl Rocha Cantú is under investigation by federal prosecutors over allegations of drugs, arms and fuel trafficking.
He is accused of being part of a cross-border criminal network accused of smuggling contraband from Guatemala into Mexico.
The Attorney General’s Office said “Raúl R” was the target of the investigation and a federal agent confirmed to the Associated Press this referred to Raúl Rocha Cantú.
open image in galleryRaul Rocha Cantú with 2024 Miss Universe Victoria Kjaer Theilvig (Getty Images for Empire State Re)A federal judge earlier this month approved 13 arrest orders in the case, although officials did not confirm whether one was issued for Cantú.
Cantú has not commented publicly on the allegations.
The Independent has reached out to the Miss Universe Organisation for comment.
The cases against its co-owners come at a sensitive time for the organisation. This year’s Miss Universe final, held in Bangkok on 21 November, had already been under scrutiny after a public confrontation between eventual winner, Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch, and a pageant executive, and claims of rigging.
Some Mexican news outlets alleged links between Cantú and Bosch’s father Bernardo Bosch, a senior executive at the state oil company Pemex. Bernardo Bosch denied any connection.
Jakrajutatip acquired Miss Universe from IMG in 2022 before selling a 50 per cent stake to Cantú Legacy Holding Group USA. JKN had promoted the partnership as a step towards expanding the brand beyond its traditional pageant model.
Earlier this month, the pageant saw a walk-out by multiple contestants after a widely publicised confrontation in which Thai pageant executive Nawat Itsaragrisil berated Bosch at a pre-pageant event for failing to post promotional content.
In footage of the moment, Bosch speaks up to say Itsaragrisil is not “respecting me as a woman”, prompting him to call for security to remove her. Other contestants, including former title-holder Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark, walked out in solidarity.
Miss Universe Organisation’s president Cantú released a statement at the time saying he would not allow “the values of respect and dignity of women to be violated”.
Nawat apologised in a statement to “anyone who feels bad, uncomfortable, or affected” by his actions.
Separately, multiple judges resigned hours before the event, with one accusing the organisers of rigging the selection process.
Miss Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, had to be taken away in a stretcher after suffering a fall during the preliminary evening gown round of the pageant. In footage circulated online by Meekii Modez, Henry is seen posing at the front of the stage in an orange gown and high heels when she falls off the stage.
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