Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman accused of laundering money on behalf of Venezuela’s government, is expected to plead not guilty in U.S. court on Monday in an alleged bribery case that pits Washington against President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration.
By Reuters – Alexandra Ulmer and Luc Cohen
Nov 1, 2021
The case has prompted strong condemnation from Maduro, strained relations between Venezuela and the United States, and disrupted nascent talks between Venezuela’s government and the opposition. Here are some details:
WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CASE?
When a Cape Verde court ruled in September that Saab’s extradition to the United States could proceed, Venezuela named him as a member of the government’s delegation to the Norway-mediated negotiations with the South American country’s political opposition, which were underway in México.
The negotiations came as a nearly three-year push to oust Maduro by opposition leader Juan Guaido – recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s rightful president – lost steam.
The United States says its judicial and diplomatic systems operate independently. The opposition has urged Maduro to resume the talks.
WHAT ARE PROSECUTORS’ ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HIM?
U.S. prosecutors have charged Saab, 49, with siphoning around $350 million out of Venezuela through the United States as part of a bribery scheme linked to Venezuela’s state-controlled exchange rate.
They are accused of submitting “false and fraudulent” documents for items that were never imported. By bribing Venezuelan government officials, they secured payment in U.S. dollars at a favorable rate via the government-controlled currency exchange rate, according to the 2019 indictment.
WHAT DOES HIS DEFENSE SAY?
Saab’s U.S. defense attorneys have called the housing corruption charges a “cryptically alleged scheme” and said their client denied the allegations.
His lawyers have said Saab was a Venezuelan diplomat and thus entitled to immunity. Court records show that Venezuela’s foreign ministry named Saab a special envoy in April 2018, and tasked him with a mission to seek aid from Iran in 2020.
WHY IS THIS CASE SO HIGH-PROFILE?
The Treasury Department sanctioned Saab in 2019, alleging he bribed Maduro’s relatives to win no-bid, overvalued contracts to import food for a government-run handout program as hunger surged in Venezuela.
“When things got tough, Mr. Alex Saab was one of the few who said he was willing,” Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello said in October.
The United States has labeled Maduro an illegitimate dictator and has sanctioned the OPEC nation’s state oil company in a bid to pressure him to step down. Several top Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, face U.S. drug trafficking charges. Maduro has denied and ridiculed the allegations.
The dramatic nature of Saab’s arrest has also drawn attention. Saab was detained in Cape Verde on a U.S. warrant in mid-2020 while his plane was refueling en route to Irán. He was extradited to Florida in October. Saab’s family says he has been “kidnapped.”
WHAT’S NEXT IN THE COURT CASE?
Saab will not bow down to the United States, said his Caracas-based wife Camila Fabri, an Italian national. Fabri is under investigation by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza for possible money laundering linked to Saab, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
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Read More: Reuters – Explainer: The high-profile case against Maduro ally Saab in Miami
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