US Justice Department opens new investigation into Maduro ally Alex Saab

Alex Saab, one of Nicolas Maduro’s closest allies, has once again become a target of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), despite having received a presidential pardon during the Biden administration.

Saab, the former Venezuelan Minister of Industry and National Production, is under investigation by DOJ officials for allegedly orchestrating a bribery conspiracy related to food imports. Two former law enforcement officials, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the legal probe, confirmed the investigation.

Prosecutors are scrutinizing Saab’s potential role in a scheme established by Maduro to import rice, corn flour, and cooking oil for impoverished Venezuelans at highly inflated costs in exchange for kickbacks. The origins of these transactions date back to 2016, when Saab’s longtime associate, Alvaro Pulido, initiated an effort to import 10 million food boxes from Mexico at a price of $34 per unit, despite knowing the actual cost was significantly lower.

Department of Justice officials had previously investigated the Maduro-backed CLAP program and, in 2019, indicted Saab on charges related to a separate bribery scheme involving the construction of low-income housing. Saab was arrested in 2020 but was eventually pardoned by Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap agreement that secured the release of several Americans detained in Venezuela.

Interest in Saab’s involvement in the food-related conspiracy has been reignited following the Trump administration’s abduction of Maduro.

Delcy Rodriguez has been serving as the interim president of Venezuela following Maduro’s removal. Rodriguez, who has never been officially charged by the US, dismissed Saab from the presidential cabinet upon assuming power. According to the AP, while Saab is believed to be residing in Venezuela, his exact whereabouts remain unknown.

Luigi Giuliano, an Italian lawyer, stated that he met with Saab in the capital, Caracas, last week. Giuliano denied that any arrest had taken place but declined to provide further comment.

Analysts suggest that if Saab were to be apprehended, he could provide critical testimony against Maduro due to their years of close business and political ties. David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, told the AP:

“The indictment against Maduro contained numerous salacious allegations, but there was very little evidence to corroborate them. If the reports about Saab’s own criminal activities and his proximity to Maduro are accurate, he could describe to jurors a range of alleged criminal activities that took place across the Maduro government.”

Saab’s name has also been frequently linked to the development of economic relations between Venezuela and Türkiye, specifically as a key figure in the “gold-for-food-and-Iranian-fuel” trade. According to 2018 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), Venezuela exported approximately $900 million worth of unprocessed gold to Türkiye that year for refining.

However, TÜİK data from the same period did not show a corresponding level of gold being exported back to Venezuela. Reports indicated that the gold was instead being used to settle payments for food supplies sourced from Türkiye.

The US previously designated Mulberry Proje Yatırım, a company Saab reportedly owned in Türkiye, as a shell company. US officials alleged that the firm was complicit in the corruption of the Venezuelan government and was used to facilitate payments within the corrupt network Saab established through the CLAP program to sell Venezuelan gold to Türkiye.