US detains man accused in multi-billion Venezuelan money laundering scheme

Image source, DEAImage caption, Álvaro Pulido was wanted by US authorities over indictments accusing him of money launderingByVanessa BuschschlüterLatin America online editorPublished10 minutes agoA Colombian man wanted for allegedly laundering money that had been illegally syphoned off a Venezuelan government welfare plan has been detained in the United States. The US Department of Justice said Álvaro Pulido, 62, had been arrested during a Homeland Security Task Force operation on Sunday, but did not provide further details as to how he ended up in US custody.Pulido had been in jail in Venezuela since March 2023 accused of diverting profits from the state-run oil company PDVSA.The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and State Department had been offering a reward of $10m (£7.5m) for information leading to his arrest.He is due to appear in court on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the US Attorney's Office.Pulido's arrest comes just two months after Alex Saab, another Colombian businessman with close ties to the Venezuelan government, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a US court. The US State Attorney's Office said that Pulido had been charged in two separate federal indictments "involving the alleged laundering of more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in connection with Venezuelan government bribery schemes".US prosecutors say Pulido, along with four other co-defendants, bribed Venezuelan government officials to secure contracts to provide poor Venezuelans with food and medicine.They accuse Pulido of wildly overcharging the Venezuelan government and laundering the profits through bank accounts abroad, including in the US.They also allege that Pulido worked with Alex Saab to launder $350m from a separate bribery scheme involving Venezuela's currency exchange system using bank accounts in Florida. Until recently, Saab was a powerful figure in the Venezuelan government with close ties to the then-leader, Nicolás Maduro, who named him minister of industry in 2024.However, after Maduro was seized by US forces in a raid on Caracas in January and taken to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges, Saab's fate quickly changed. Less than two weeks after Maduro was seized, the new US-backed interim government of Venezuela sacked Saab from his post as minister, and in May it extradited him to the US.Last month, Saab pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.Related topicsVenezuelaColombiaNicolás MaduroMoney launderingUnited StatesMore on this storyMaduro ally pleads guilty in $195m money laundering case in US courtPublished16 September