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4w ago

U.S. Unseals Money-Laundering Case Against Alex Saab, Key Maduro Ally

The charges open a path for prosecutors to trace regime-linked money through U.S. banks.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA - DECEMBER 20: The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro (not seen), bids farewell to the businessman Alex Saab at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela on December 20, 2023. The Colombian businessman and diplomat Alex Saab, was released this Wednesday. In exchange, Caracas agreed to release 36 people, including 12 American citizens. (Photo by Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Saab, a Colombian businessman who served as Venezuela’s industry minister, made his first U.S. court appearance Monday after prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida unsealed a money‑laundering indictment.
  • The filing alleges Saab and partners rigged Venezuela’s CLAP food program by bribing officials, using shell firms, and faking invoices and shipping records to skim hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • Prosecutors say the conspiracy expanded from 2019 through January 2026 to include sales of PDVSA oil under false pretenses, with proceeds routed through U.S. accounts to hide and promote the scheme.
  • DEA, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations, working through the Homeland Security Task Force, led the case, and the single count carries up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
  • Venezuela’s leadership has now distanced itself from Saab, as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed he used a fake Venezuelan ID and journalists pointed to records that suggest he held government posts, while CBS News reports Miami prosecutors opened a new probe into Nicolás Maduro around March.