Crime
U.S. federal grand jury charges Chavista governor in money laundering scheme
Charges stem a man ongoing federal investigation of Nicolas Maduro’s alleged frontman Alex Saab.
November 10, 2021 4:30pm
Updated: November 12, 2021 8:56am
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Florida has charged former Venezuelan governor José Gregorio Vielma Mora for participating in a money laundering scheme with Nicolás Maduro’s alleged frontman and Colombian businessman, Alex Saab.
On October 7, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the former governor for participating in a corruption and money laundering scheme that took place between 2015 and 2020.
“A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment on Oct. 7, which was unsealed today, charging three Colombian nationals and two Venezuelan nationals for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of contracts to provide food and medicine to Venezuela that were obtained through bribes,” said the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs.
The case against Vielma Mora follows Saab’s extradition to the U.S. from Cape Verde on October 16.
Along with Vielma Mora, the U.S. District Court also declared several other Venezuelans with ties to Saab as fugitives, according to the AP. Among those granted the fugitive status are Álvaro Pulido, Saab’s business partner, along with his son and two of his employees.
The U.S. justice system is offering a $10 million reward for Alvaro Pulido, who is also accused of other money laundering crimes.
These measures are part of the investigation being carried out in the United States. These fugitives are accused of being part of a money-laundering network that supplied food and medicine to Venezuela.
