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Maduro Ally Alex Saab Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in US
(MENAFN) Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a longtime confidant of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a money laundering charge in federal court in Miami, according to court records and US authorities.
Under the plea deal, Saab agreed to cooperate with ongoing US investigations and forfeit $195 million in illicit proceeds.
The 54-year-old admitted to a single count tied to a scheme involving Venezuelan government food-import contracts. Prosecutors say Saab relied on fictitious companies and falsified shipping documents to siphon funds from those contracts, a scheme they linked to bribes paid to Venezuelan officials.
At the heart of the case is Venezuela's CLAP food program, launched to deliver subsidized food to millions of Venezuelans amid the country's economic collapse. Prosecutors allege Saab and his associates funneled and hid proceeds from the scheme using shell companies and US bank accounts.
Saab had previously pleaded not guilty. His reversal came after a Miami federal judge scheduled a Tuesday hearing and scrapped a planned trial.
The guilty plea represents a significant turn in the years-long US investigation into Saab, whom American officials have called a central financial fixer for Maduro.
US authorities first charged Saab in 2019 and arrested him in Cape Verde the following year while he was en route to Iran. He was extradited to the United States in 2021.
In 2023, then-President Joe Biden pardoned Saab as part of a prisoner swap that freed several Americans held in Venezuela. He was returned to US custody after Venezuelan authorities deported him in May, amid renewed pressure from Washington.
Saab's cooperation could position him as a key witness in other cases tied to Venezuelan officials — including the prosecution of Maduro himself, who faces US drug trafficking charges.
The plea lands as Washington continues recalibrating its relationship with Venezuela following Maduro's removal from power earlier this year.
Under the plea deal, Saab agreed to cooperate with ongoing US investigations and forfeit $195 million in illicit proceeds.
The 54-year-old admitted to a single count tied to a scheme involving Venezuelan government food-import contracts. Prosecutors say Saab relied on fictitious companies and falsified shipping documents to siphon funds from those contracts, a scheme they linked to bribes paid to Venezuelan officials.
At the heart of the case is Venezuela's CLAP food program, launched to deliver subsidized food to millions of Venezuelans amid the country's economic collapse. Prosecutors allege Saab and his associates funneled and hid proceeds from the scheme using shell companies and US bank accounts.
Saab had previously pleaded not guilty. His reversal came after a Miami federal judge scheduled a Tuesday hearing and scrapped a planned trial.
The guilty plea represents a significant turn in the years-long US investigation into Saab, whom American officials have called a central financial fixer for Maduro.
US authorities first charged Saab in 2019 and arrested him in Cape Verde the following year while he was en route to Iran. He was extradited to the United States in 2021.
In 2023, then-President Joe Biden pardoned Saab as part of a prisoner swap that freed several Americans held in Venezuela. He was returned to US custody after Venezuelan authorities deported him in May, amid renewed pressure from Washington.
Saab's cooperation could position him as a key witness in other cases tied to Venezuelan officials — including the prosecution of Maduro himself, who faces US drug trafficking charges.
The plea lands as Washington continues recalibrating its relationship with Venezuela following Maduro's removal from power earlier this year.
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