South America15 September, 20263 min read
Alex Saab Pleads Guilty in Miami to $195m Money Laundering Conspiracy Tied to CLAP
Alex Saab pleaded guilty in Miami to money laundering conspiracy tied to CLAP bribery. He agreed to forfeit $195 million and cooperate with federal investigations.
Saab pleads guilty in Miami
Alex Saab, described as a close ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty in a US federal court in Miami to a single count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments tied to a bribery and fraud scheme involving Venezuela’s subsidized food programme CLAP. In the plea, Saab admitted to organising a system of bribes to Venezuelan officials so companies he secretly controlled could win government contracts to import food and medicine, and prosecutors said the fraudulent contracts fell under CLAP. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Saab and his associates “used fake companies, false invoices and fraudulent shipping records to skim hundreds of millions of dollars” meant for public benefit.
The BBC reported that as part of the plea deal Saab, 54, must forfeit $195m (£145m) and could face up to 20 years in prison, with the hearing held in Miami before US District Judge Kathleen Williams. The Reuters account said Saab entered the plea to one count of money laundering conspiracy at a hearing before Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami and agreed to forfeit $195 million and cooperate with the US Department of Justice.
Cooperation and possible fallout
The BBC said Saab’s plea deal has raised speculation that he could testify against Maduro at trial, while Reuters said the court records did not reveal the nature of any investigations where Saab might offer help.
In Miami, Saab agreed to cooperate fully with US prosecutors, and the BBC reported that the plea deal does not specifically mention the case against Maduro in New York but includes language that Saab “will not protect any person or identity through false information or omission”.
PBS reported that Saab agreed to cooperate in continuing federal investigations and that prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the range and seek additional reductions if his cooperation proves substantial.
Reuters said Maduro is being held without bail in a Brooklyn jail after pleading not guilty to drug trafficking charges, and it reported that Maduro’s trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, told the court in the PBS account, “This case sends a clear message: Political connections, wealth and proximity to a corrupt regime will not put anyone beyond the reach of American justice.”
CLAP, bribes, and oil links
Prosecutors described the scheme as starting with CLAP contracts intended to distribute subsidised food during Venezuela’s economic collapse, with Al Jazeera saying Saab admitted organising bribes to Venezuelan officials to win contracts to import food and medicine. PBS said the new indictment centers on contracts for the so-called CLAP program and that Saab admitted to skimming at least $195 million from at least six contracts awarded to companies he controlled to import food and medicine. The PBS account also said the scheme expanded to include the sale of oil from state-run oil company PDVSA, and it described how Saab and his associates falsified shipping records and set up a network of shell companies and bank accounts in countries including Antigua, Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, the Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters reported that Saab pleaded guilty as federal prosecutors prepare separately to take Maduro to trial next year, and it said Saab had previously been detained in Cape Verde in 2020 and extradited to face charges for allegedly siphoning $350 million out of Venezuela. In the Al Jazeera account, Assistant Attorney General A Tysen Duva said Saab “created a complex web of front companies, shell accounts, and false records to perpetuate his scheme, win lucrative public contracts, and line his own pockets as well as his conspirators,” tying the plea to the alleged bribery and fraud system.