Houston Executive Says He Didn’t Know His Tenant Was AMLO’s Son

(Bloomberg) -- A former Baker Hughes Co. executive cited in a scandal in Mexico for leasing out his Houston home to the eldest son of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he had no prior knowledge of who the renter was.

Keith Schilling, who worked for Baker Hughes between 2016 and 2019, spoke publicly for the first time on his involvement, commenting in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News. His home was vacant and available for rent after Schilling moved out to run the oil-service giant's Canada business, he said.

“I had no previous relationship, personal connection, or familiarity with the renter or the renter's family in any form or fashion,” Schilling said. “In any of my roles at Baker Hughes, I had no responsibility for any business activities or contracts in - or related to - Mexico.”

The rental of the property was publicly marketed through a professional and licensed broker, Schilling said.

An article published last week by non-profit civil association Mexicans Against Corruption and news outlet Latinus said that Jose Ramon Lopez Beltran, the president's 40-year-old son, has lived in recent years in two homes in Texas, each worth nearly $1 million. The first property where he lived belonged to Schilling, at the time an executive for Baker Hughes, which has contracts with Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex.

Lopez Obrador, widely known as AMLO, responded to the report by denying any conflict of interest. “My sons don't have any influence in this government,” he told reporters on Monday. “We don't give contracts to people who are recommended to us.”

Baker Hughes, which helps companies map pockets of underground crude and drill for oil, said in a statement issued earlier in the week that it has worked in Mexico for more than 60 years and had no involvement in Schilling's lease.

“As is standard practice when relocating for a job, I rented my personally-owned home in the Houston area to a third party from August 2019 to July 2020,” said Schilling, who left the world's No. 2 oilfield contractor to run smaller rival Basic Energy Services Inc. for almost two years. “The parties entered into a typical rental contract at market price. I was paid monthly, in accordance with the terms of the rental contract.”