Alex Saab Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Venezuelan Food and Medicine Contract Scheme
Alex Nain Saab Moran, a former Venezuelan industry minister and longtime associate of former President Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty in Miami on September 15 to conspiring to launder proceeds from a bribery and fraud scheme tied to Venezuelan public contracts for food and medicine.
The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Saab admitted participating in a nearly decade-long conspiracy involving Venezuela’s Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción, or CLAP, a public welfare programme intended to supply food and medicine.
Saab admitted that the conspirators arranged bribes and other illegal payments to Venezuelan public officials so that entities they secretly controlled could obtain lucrative government import contracts. The Justice Department said the contracted goods were not fully delivered. Fake companies, false invoices, falsified shipping records and other fraudulent documents were used to skim hundreds of millions of dollars and conceal the conspirators’ links to the activity.
The laundering element extended beyond Venezuela. Saab admitted using shell companies outside the country to move proceeds around the world, including into the United States. The international corporate and payment structures were used both to conceal the source and ownership of funds and to reduce the risk of detection.
Saab pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, although the eventual sentence will be determined by the federal court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. No sentencing date had been set when the Justice Department announced the plea.
The case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Miami Field Division, with assistance from the FBI Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations Miami. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance. Prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida are handling the case.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice — September 15, 2026 release, “Maduro Regime Ally Alex Saab Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Scheme Involving Bribery and Public Contracts for Food and Medicine.”
