Alex Saab Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering via Venezuela Food Contracts
Former Maduro regime minister Alex Saab admitted in Miami to laundering hundreds of millions from Venezuela's CLAP food program. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Maduro Ally Admits Laundering Hundreds of Millions Through Venezuela's Food Relief Program
Alex Nain Saab Moran, 54, a former Minister of Industry under ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty in a Miami federal court to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, DOJ Justice News reports. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.
According to court documents, Saab orchestrated a nearly decade-long scheme to corruptly profit from the Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (CLAP), a Venezuelan government program designed to supply food and medicine to low-income citizens. He admitted to organizing a network of bribes and illicit payments to public officials, allowing entities secretly controlled by the conspirators to win lucrative CLAP import contracts.
The conspirators repeatedly failed to fulfill those contracts in full. Instead, they used fictitious companies, falsified invoices, fraudulent shipping records, and other fabricated documents to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves and their associates. Shell companies outside Venezuela were then used to move and conceal the proceeds through the international financial system, including through U.S. financial institutions.
"Criminals like Alex Saab who stole from the people of Venezuela and worked to exploit and misuse American financial institutions to fund illicit activities will be held accountable by this FBI," FBI Director Kash Patel said. "Under the leadership of the Trump administration, this FBI will work with our partners to deploy all necessary resources to protect the integrity of U.S. financial institutions and track down those who profit from these criminal operations."
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said Saab had 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." Duva added that the Criminal Division "will do the same for others seeking to abuse the U.S. economy for their own gain."
Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole called the plea "a substantial disruption to the illicit financial networks supporting narcoterrorism and political corruption," noting that the DEA had long investigated Saab's financial crimes and his ties to the Maduro regime.
The case has a notable recent history. In December 2023, President Biden granted Saab clemency while he was awaiting trial in the Southern District of Florida, and Saab was released from federal custody and returned to Venezuela. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said that was not the end of the matter. His office built a new criminal case, secured a new indictment in January 2026, and, working with federal and international partners, returned Saab before a Miami federal court on May 18.
"Saab exploited programs intended to provide critical food and medicine to the Venezuelan people, bribed government officials, and used shell companies and the U.S. financial system to move and conceal criminal proceeds," Quiñones said. "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."
A sentencing date has not yet been set. Saab faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; the presiding federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation was led by the DEA Miami Field Division, with assistance from the FBI Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations Miami. The Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance. Deputy Chief Joseph Palazzo of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The prosecution forms part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159, a whole-of-government effort targeting criminal cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking networks operating inside and outside the United States.
Source: DOJ Justice News