Alex Saab, a former Venezuelan official and aide to ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the US.
The US case against Saab has been closely watched as Maduro and his wife, former First Lady Cilia Flores, face trial next year in New York on weapon and drug charges, which they deny.
As part of the plea deal, Saab, 54, must forfeit $195m (£145m), and agree to co-operate fully with US prosecutors. He could face up to 20 years in prison.
Maduro and Flores were seized by the US military in a dramatic raid in Caracas in January. Saab’s plea deal has raised speculation that he could testify against Maduro at trial.
Saab agreed to the deal on Tuesday in a court in Miami, Florida, having previously committed to fight the charges.
He was extradited to the US in May by Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over from Maduro.
Saab, a former Colombian businessman, was accused of embezzling money from a welfare plan for hungry Venezuelans, and transferring some of the proceeds to US bank accounts.
Venezuela has faced chronic shortages of food and medicine as a result of years of political and economic crisis.
“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,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
The plea deal does not specifically mention the case against Maduro in New York.
But it says that Saab “will not protect any person or identity through false information or omission”.
This is the second US criminal case against Saab.
In 2020, he was extradited to face money laundering charges for allegedly siphoning $350m out of Venezuela.
But former US President Joe Biden granted him clemency in 2023 as part of a prisoner swap.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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