Photo: Alamy
The United States Department of Justice announced Monday that its Homeland Security Task Force has arrested former Venezuelan Industry Minister Alex Saab on money laundering charges tied to Venezuelan food contracts and oil transactions.
Saab, a close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is accused of participating in a large-scale international money laundering scheme involving corruption connected to a Venezuelan public welfare food program.
According to court filings, Saab allegedly bribed Venezuelan government officials in order to secure lucrative contracts tied to the country’s Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción, commonly known as the CLAP food distribution program. Prosecutors say the program was intended to provide food to struggling Venezuelans during the country’s economic crisis.
“Thanks to the efforts of the Homeland Security Task Force, Alex Saab will be prosecuted and held fully accountable under U.S. law for his alleged role in this scheme,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors allege Saab and his associates falsely represented the origin and nature of food imports by creating fraudulent documentation claiming shipments came from countries including Colombia and Mexico.
The Justice Department said Saab and his partners used shell companies, fake invoices and falsified shipping records to divert hundreds of millions of dollars intended to purchase food for Venezuelan citizens.
“Alex Saab allegedly used American banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from a Venezuelan food program meant for the poor and proceeds from the illegal sale of Venezuelan oil,” Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva said. “This is unacceptable. The Criminal Division will not allow foreign actors to exploit the American financial system and use it as a safe haven for the proceeds of their corruption.”
Reuters reported that Saab appeared in federal court in Miami on Monday after being deported to the United States over the weekend. If convicted, Saab faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
