Alex Saab

Alex Saab is the son of a Lebanese immigrant, Luis, who settled in the city of Barranquilla and opened various businesses, including Textiles Saab, finding success in Colombia's textile industry.{{cite news|title=Álex Saab|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/venezuela-organized-crime-news/alex-saab/|date=14 June 2020|access-date=4 September 2020|work=Insight Crime}}{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Michael | title=Venezuela's Trade Scheme With Turkey Is Enriching a Mysterious Maduro Crony | website=Bloomberg.com | date=2019-04-25 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-25/venezuela-turkey-trading-scheme-enriches-mysterious-maduro-crony | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425191139/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-25/venezuela-turkey-trading-scheme-enriches-mysterious-maduro-crony | archive-date=2019-04-25 | url-status=unfit | access-date=2021-10-29}} Alex Saab attended the German School of Barranquilla, an elite private school.

Saab began his career in Barranquilla at age 18, selling business promotional keychains and subsequently work uniforms.{{cite news|last=Reyes|first=Gerardo|title=El oscuro pasado de dos millonarios contratistas del gobierno venezolano|url=https://www.univision.com/noticias/univision-investiga/el-oscuro-pasado-de-dos-millonarios-contratistas-del-gobierno-venezolano|date=4 March 2017|access-date=13 September 2018|work=Univisión}} By the time he was 19, he had opened a T-shirt factory.

In early 2000, he formed a network of export organisations with family members listed as officers. Saab joined a group of Colombian businessmen who were exporting merchandise to Colombia from Venezuela using the CADIVI currency system.{{cite news|title=¿Quién es Alex Saab, el barranquillero socio de Maduro?|url=https://www.elheraldo.co/barranquilla/quien-es-alex-saab-el-barranquillero-socio-de-maduro-395907|date=24 August 2017|access-date=13 September 2018|work=El Heraldo}} According to a Univisión source, during this time Saab accumulated million dollar debts after the suspension of foreign exchange payments by the Venezuelan government, which in turn alleged that some businessmen in the country had cheated millions from the Cadivi system, although Saab was not accused of such fraud.{{cite news|last=Calzadilla|first=Tamoa|title=Businessman who sued Univision Noticias lashes out in Venezuela against four journalists who had to leave the country |url=https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/businessman-who-sued-univision-noticias-lashes-out-in-venezuela-against-four-journalists-who-had-to-leave-the-country?123|date=9 February 2018|access-date=5 Aug 2021|work=Univisión}} Saab sued Univisión's journalist Gerardo Reyes in the US after Reyes reported on these issues.

According to an investigation by Noticias Caracol, businessman César Ruiz Sandoval was a key player in Saab's network starting from 2008 and would reportedly receive financial compensation from companies linked to Saab, up to 260 million pesos from HSC Capital, Golden Sun Trading de Colombia, Promotora Dubera and other companies. Ruiz owned a company named Marmocol de Colombia that would later be called Criadero Porcino Casa Blanca which had a Saab company among its commercial references, Shatex. Ruiz is also named as a founder and as a shareholder of Soft Solutions (later named Intratex International), along with other partners of Alex Saab. César Ruiz was killed on 4 June 2022 and the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia would open an investigation on his murder.{{Cite news |date=17 July 2023 |title=El extraño asesinato de un comerciante colombiano que aparece vinculado a Alex Saab |work=El Nacional |url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/el-extrano-asesinato-de-un-comerciante-colombiano-que-aparece-vinculado-a-alex-saab/ |access-date=26 July 2023}}

Saab was also enriched due to the materials supplier business of the Housing Mission in Venezuela. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in 2009 Saab and his business partner Álvaro Pulido won "an overvalued government contract to build 25,000 units of low-income housing for three or four-times the worth of the original construction cost." From 2011, Saab worked with Maduro's stepsons, Walter, Yosser and Yoswal, known as Los Chamos, because of their access to Maduro and former Vice President Tareck El Aissami, to secure government contracts.

On 28 November 2011, Saab's Bogota-based company Fondo Global de Construccion (Global Construction Fund) signed an agreement with the Venezuelan government,{{cite web | title=Alex Saab: quién es y de qué acusan al empresario vinculado al gobierno de Maduro extraditado a EE.UU. | website=BBC News Mundo | date=2020-06-13 | url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-53036904 | language=es | access-date=2021-10-19}} which resulted in a contract of US$685 million for the construction of prefabricated homes in Venezuela as part of la Gran Misión Vivienda housing programme, The signing was attended by presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Hugo Chávez, and Venezuela's then Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro. Saab's lawyer, Abelardo De La Espriella, said that Saab had no connection with the Global Construction Fund. Armando.Info, a Venezuelan investigative journalist outlet, reported that Saab received US$159 million from the Venezuelan government to import housing materials between 2012 and 2013, but only delivered products worth US$3 million. The company was investigated by Ecuador's government for alleged money laundering through false exports to Venezuela via Colombia; although Saab was not accused of wrongdoing, in 2013 Ecuadorian prosecutors alleged the company was used to launder more than $130 million, but the case was dropped after several years. A parallel investigation by Colombia's customs agency was dropped in 2014 when the investigator resigned and moved abroad due to death threats.

In 2014, Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister Gaston Browne invited Saab to become special economic envoy to Venezuela, granting him Antiguan citizenship. He had a contract to build a factory in Antigua to make housing panels, but the factory never opened.

Saab used the services of Mossack Fonseca, the legal firm at the center of the Panama Papers offshore financing scandal, to create companies abroad.{{Cite web|last=Hernández|first=Frank|date=2021-10-18|title=Perfil {{!}} Alex Saab: de vender llaves a socio comercial de un gobierno|url=https://elpitazo.net/politica/perfil-alex-saab-de-vender-llaves-a-socio-comercial-de-un-gobierno/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}{{Cite web|title=El más sospechoso contratista de Pdvsa se vincula al ex alcalde de Bogotá|url=https://armando.info/el-mas-sospechoso-contratista-de-pdvsa-se-vincula-al-ex-alcalde-de-bogota/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Armando.info|date=31 July 2016 |language=es}}{{Cite web|title=La "precuela" de los Clap también fue negocio para Saab y Pulido|url=https://armando.info/la-precuela-de-los-clap-tambien-fue-negocio-para-saab-y-pulido/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Armando.info|date=7 April 2019 |language=es}} Among these were Seafire Foundation, Lintel Overseas and PI Proment International Sociedad Anónima Kingstone Team Inc. Saab's lawyer said none of these companies were ever used. Among the companies there also was Group Grand Limited, of which Saab was co-owner of and was used to supply food to the Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) programme.

In August 2015, a tiny trucking and trading firm, Trenaco, headquartered in Switzerland but largely run out of Colombia, won a contract from Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), worth around $4.5 billion, for a drilling project in the Orinoco Belt, the world's largest crude oil reserve. After complaints from PDVSA's foreign partners, including Chevron and Rosneft, the deal collapsed by the start of 2016.{{cite web | last1=Ulmer | first1=Alexandra | last2=Gupta | first2=Girish | title=Special Report: In Venezuela's murky oil industry, the deal that went too far | website=U.S. | date=2016-07-26 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-contract-specialrepor-idUSKCN1061U9 | access-date=2021-10-18}} Trenaco executives told Reuters that Saab had run the company since 2012–14. The company shared an address with Fondo Global, and executives said Saab worked alongside Carlos Gutiérrez, the son of a Colombian agricultural magnate, and Colombian businessman Alvaro Pulido.

In 2019, Saab launched two legal cases in Miami against the Univision TV network for its reporting of his businesses. By 2020, Saab had moved his base of operations to Turkey.

{{Main|Local Committees for Supply and Production}}

The Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) programme, established in 2016, imports food for the poor in Venezuela in the context of the country's food shortages. Saab had sold food to Venezuela for more than US$200 million in a contract signed by President Nicolás Maduro through a registered company in Hong Kong.{{cite web|date=23 August 2017|title=Barranquillero Álex Saab es socio de Maduro: exfiscal Ortega|url=https://www.elheraldo.co/mundo/barranquillero-alex-saab-es-socio-de-maduro-exfiscal-ortega-395477|website=El Heraldo|quote=Saab Moran está relacionado con la contratista Fondo Global de Construcción. Gracias a una sociedad registrada en Hong Kong, este empresario ha logrado venderle alimentos a Venezuela por más de 200 millones de dólares en una negociación firmada por el actual presidente del vecino país, Nicolás Maduro.}}{{cite web|title=Un huracán de dólares de Alex Saab se formó sobre Antigua|url=https://armando.info/Reportajes/Details/5660|access-date=2021-06-20|website=Armando.info|date=20 September 2020 }} On 23 August 2017, the former Venezuelan attorney general, Luisa Ortega Díaz, said Alex Saab was the co-owner of the Mexican firm supplying food to CLAP, Group Grand Limited, along with Álvaro Pulido and Rofolfo Reyes, who Ortega claimed was "presumably President Nicolás Maduro". The food supplies have been sold through Group Grand Limited for 112% more than the original price in Mexico.{{cite web|date=26 August 2017|title=El chavismo revendió paquetes de comida a los pobres un 112% más caro|url=https://www.larazon.es/internacional/el-chavismo-revendio-paquetes-de-comida-a-los-pobres-un-112-mas-caro-IJ15857681|website=La Razon (España)}} Saab would have met Pulido in 2012, when he was dedicated to supplying the Saab company, but this activity would have stopped doing it in 2014.{{cite web|date=24 August 2017|title=¿Quién es Alex Saab, el barranquillero socio de Maduro|url=https://www.elheraldo.co/barranquilla/quien-es-alex-saab-el-barranquillero-socio-de-maduro-395907|website=El Heraldo|quote=A Álvaro Pulido, otro de los implicados en la denuncia de la exfiscal Ortega, lo habría conocido hace cinco años cuando se dedicaba a proveer a la empresa de Saab, pero esta actividad habría dejado de realizarla hace tres años.}}{{clarify|confusing and contradicts English-language sources|date=October 2021}}

In 2018, the Venezuela government began paying for the CLAP imports using its gold resources. The US Treasury said the government was pressuring miners to sell Saab gold at an inflated market rate. "The gold would be flown to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Saab's company, Mulberry, based in Turkey, allegedly would help facilitate payments for the selling of gold and goods back to Venezuelan clients."

In April and September 2017 four investigative journalists published reports in Venezuelan web portal Armando.info about inflated food prices within the CLAP initiative, exposing Saab's relationship with the Venezuelan government.{{cite web | last=Sabados | first=Katarina | title=Venezuelan Journalists Flee After Receiving Threats | website=OCCRP | date=2018-02-08 | url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/7613-venezuelan-journalists-flee-after-receiving-threats | access-date=2021-10-18}} The first report showed Saab's connections to Hong Kong-based Grupo Grand (including the listing of his son as a beneficiary and the company sharing an address with another of Saab's enterprises; Saab rejected the allegations) and that it charged the Venezuelan government prices far above the market rate. The second report investigated Luisa Ortega's allegations about the CLAP programme. A joint report between the Central University of Venezuela and Armando.info showed that milk powder supplied by Saab's company was not nutritious, having high levels of sodium, low levels of calcium and only 1/41 the protein of normal milk.{{cite web | title='It is not the time to shut up': Venezuelan journalists remain in exile as press freedom attacks continue | website=ICIJ | date=2018-08-28 | url=https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2018/08/it-is-not-the-time-to-shut-up-venezuelan-journalists-remain-in-exile-as-press-freedom-attacks-continue/ | access-date=2021-10-19}}{{Cite web|date=2018-02-18|title=Leche de los Clap no es nutritiva, según investigación de Armando.info|url=https://efectococuyo.com/la-humanidad/leche-de-los-clap-no-es-nutritiva-segun-investigacion-de-armando-info/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Efecto Cocuyo|language=es}}{{Cite web|title=La mala leche de los CLAP|url=https://armando.info/la-mala-leche-de-los-clap/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Armando.info|date=18 February 2018 |language=es}}

Following the publication, Armando.info and the journalists were threatened and had their personal information shared on social media, and Saab brought a lawsuit alleging continued defamation of reputation and aggravated injury charges, which carry a prison sentence of up to six years, leading the reporters to flee Venezuela.{{cite news|title=Empresario Álex Saab demanda a cuatro periodistas de Armando.info|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2018/02/07/nota/6607867/empresario-demanda-cuatro-periodistas-armandoinfo-venezuela|date=7 February 2018|access-date=7 November 2018|work=El Universo|location=Ecuador}}{{cite web | last=Chavkin | first=Sasha | title='I am still in shock': Journalists flee Venezuela to publish ongoing investigation, amid legal threats | website=ICIJ | date=2018-02-09 | url=https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2018/02/still-shock-journalists-flee-venezuela-publish-ongoing-investigation-amid-legal-threats/ | access-date=2021-10-19}}

On 11 September 2018, the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL) of Venezuela banned the Armando.info journalists from publishing information about Saab.{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/09/02/america/1535909954_649279.html|title=Maduro silencia a los medios digitales en Venezuela|last=Moleiro|first=Alonso|date=3 September 2018|website=El País}}{{cite web |url=https://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2018/02/07/5a7b349c268e3e034c8b45ec.html|title=Cuatro periodistas huyen de Caracas y se unen al exilio venezolano|date=7 February 2018|website=El Mundo (Espana)}} In a document addressed to the journalist {{Interlanguage link|Roberto Deniz|es}} and signed by the general director of CONATEL, Vianey Miguel Rojas "forbids citizens Roberto Denis Machín, Joseph Poliszuk, Ewald Scharfenberg and Alfredo José Meza to publish and disseminate mentions that go against the honor and reputation of the citizen Alex Naím Saab" through digital media, specifically on the site Armando.info, "until the end of the current process in the case being pursued against said citizens".{{cite web|url=http://www.noticierodigital.com/2018/09/conatel-prohibe-periodistas-armando-info-publicar-informaciones-alex-saab/|title=Conatel prohíbe a periodistas de Armando Info publicar informaciones de Alex Saab|date=11 September 2018|website=Noticiero Digital}}{{cite web|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/sociedad/prohibieron-periodistas-armandoinfo-publicar-sobre-alex-saab_251383|title=Prohibieron a periodistas de Armando.info publicar sobre Alex Saab|date=11 September 2018|website=El Nacional}}{{cite web|url=http://www.venezuelaaldia.com/2018/09/12/conatel-protege-alex-saab-censura-medios-informen-caso-corrupcion-clap/|title=Conatel protege a Alex Saab y censura a medios que informen sobre caso de corrupción CLAP|date=12 September 2018|website=Venezuela al Dia}} The ban was denounced by the Venezuelan National Press Workers' Union (SNTP). Since the reports, the Armando.Info site suffered massive cyber attacks, warning that the ban on mentioning Saab in successive investigation articles "increases the threat". Roberto Deniz rejected the sentence, recalling that after the publications the journalistic team had been threatened via Twitter and banned from leaving the country by the 11th Court in Caracas.{{cite news|last=Martín|first=Sabrina|title=Venezuela: Alex Saab, el nombre que la dictadura quiere borrar de la prensa|url=https://es.panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2018/09/12/venezuela-alex-saab-nombre-que-dictadura-quiere-borrar-de-prensa/|date=12 September 2018|access-date=13 September 2018|work=Panam Post}}

{{Main|Operación Alacrán}}

On 1 December 2019, Armando.info published an investigation reporting that nine members of Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly (see 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis) intervened in Saab and Carlos Lizcano, another businessman linked with the government and the CLAP program. The investigation reported that the implicated lawmakers had written letters of support to the United States Treasury and others to Lizcano, who authorities were investigating over his possible links to Saab. According to Armando.info, the lawmakers wrote the letters despite being aware of evidence that tied Lizcano to Saab.{{cite web|agency=Reuters|date=2019-12-03|title='Missed his moment': opposition corruption scandal undermines Venezuela's Guaido|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/12/03/missed-his-moment-opposition-corruption-scandal-undermines-venezuelas-guaido|access-date=2020-08-26|website=Euronews}} In addition, the portal pointed to José Brito as implicated in alleged acts of corruption to "cleanse the reputation" of Colombian businessmen linked to the Maduro government and the alleged network of embezzlement of CLAP social assistance funds.{{cite web|author=María Antonieta Ascanio /|date=2 December 2019|title=Who is the deputy José Brito accused of alleged acts of corruption?|url=https://vpitv.com/venezuela/quien-es-el-dip-jose-brito-y-por-que-le-exigio-a-guaido-responder-por-los-recursos-del-parlamento/|access-date=5 December 2019|website=VPI Tv|language=es}}{{cite web|title=Do you need to wash your reputation? Deputies are rented for this purpose|url=https://armando.info/reportajes/Details/2614|access-date=5 December 2019|website=armando.info|date=December 2019|archive-date=5 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205020543/https://armando.info/reportajes/Details/2614|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|date=1 December 2019|title=Several deputies favored businessmen linked to the Clap, according to Armando.info|url=https://efectococuyo.com/politica/varios-diputados-favorecieron-a-empresarios-vinculados-con-los-clap-segun-armando-info/|access-date=5 December 2019|website=Efecto Cocuyo|language=es}}

In September 2020 authorities in Liechtenstein started investigating Alex Saab on embezzlement charges related to CLAP public funds, sending a request for assistance to Switzerland.{{cite web|date=2020-09-09|title=Vaduz mène une enquête à hauts risques sur les pots-de-vin du Venezuela|url=https://gothamcity.ch/2020/09/09/vaduz-mene-une-enquete-a-hauts-risques-sur-les-pots-de-vin-du-venezuela/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=Gotham City|language=fr-CH}}{{cite web|date=2020-09-10|title=Principado de Liechtenstein también investiga a Alex Saab|url=https://kfedigital.net/2020/09/10/principado-de-liechtenstein-tambien-investiga-a-alex-saab/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=KFE Digital|language=es}} On 14 September, United States authorities froze accounts in Liechtenstein belonging to Saab worth US$700 million.{{cite web|date=2020-09-14|title=EEUU congeló $700 millones de cuentas en Liechtenstein pertenecientes a Alex Saab|url=https://talcualdigital.com/eeuu-congelo-700-millones-de-cuentas-en-liechtenstein-pertenecientes-a-alex-saab/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=Tal Cual|language=es}}

Colombian journalist Gerardo Reyes, Pulitzer Prize recipient and Univisión's investigation team director, published in 2021 his book Alex Saab with the {{Interlanguage link|Planeta Editorial|lt=Editorial Planeta|es}}, based on 120 interviews. Reyes described Saab as a "super minister", saying that he had more tasks than any other member of Maduro's cabinet, and has written that the United States calculates that Saab's profits from the Venezuelan government are over a billion dollars.{{cite web|last=Torrado|first=Santiago|date=2021-07-19|title="Alex Saab tenía más funciones que cualquier ministro venezolano"|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-07-19/alex-saab-tenia-mas-funciones-que-cualquier-ministro-en-venezuela.html|access-date=2021-09-07|website=El País|language=es}}

In 2016, Reuters reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been investigating companies owned by Saab and Álvaro Pulido on suspicion of money laundering from the illegal trafficking of cocaine from Colombia. The FinCEN Files, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2020, revealed that from 2016 onwards banks had reported Saab to the U.S. Treasury's FinCEN financial crimes bureau for suspicious transactions from the Global Bank of Commerce in Antigua.{{cite web | last=Chavkin | first=Sasha | title=A roundup of FinCEN Files reporting from Latin America | website=ICIJ | date=2020-09-25 | url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/a-roundup-of-fincen-files-reporting-from-latin-america/ | access-date=2021-10-25}}

The Colombian Prosecution and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN) issued arrest warrants on 24 September 2018 against seven people, including Alex Saab, charged with asset laundering worth US$25 billion between 2004 and 2011, and planned to carry out an operation the following day. However, the operation was foiled after Eddie Andrés Pinto, a patrolman of the DIJIN who served as an interception analyst, alerted several members of the group about their arrests. As a response, Alex Saab escaped to Venezuela and his brothers, Luis Alberto and Amir, disconnected their cellphones and the authorities lost their track. After an investigation, a tip by an anonymous informant and an extortation complaint filed by a trusted person by Saab, the Colombian authorities identified Andrés Pinto as responsible; on 11 October he was arrested in Bogotá and indicted by the Prosecution with bribery and illegal violation of communications or correspondence of an official nature.{{clarify|reason=What does "illegal violation of communications or correspondence of an official nature" mean?|date=July 2021}} Pinto announced his intention to collaborate with the authorities. At the moment it was unknown if the indicted group and Saab contacted the DIJIN to leak information regarding the operation or if they were subject of extortion, and the Prosecution was evaluating if Pinto received benefits in exchange of the provided information. On 23 September 2018, one of Saab's lawyers filed a complaint with the prosecution for attempted extortion from a public official "who is providing confidential information about investigative proceedings against the Saab family using WhatsApp and Telegram messages, in exchange for some economic or labor purpose.”{{cite news|title=Así cayó el policía que filtró la captura de Alex Saab|url=https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/investigacion/asi-cayo-el-policia-que-filtro-la-captura-de-alex-saab-articulo-817808|date=13 October 2018|access-date=15 November 2018|work=El Espectador|location=Colombia|language=es|quote=La denuncia de García}} On 12 October, Andrés Pinto accepted the extortion charges that were indicted against him. According to the complaint in the audios and WhatsApp captures provided therein, Pinto requested COP 500 million in exchange for erasing all the information that existed on behalf of Saab, stating that "there was nothing that compromised Saab or his family", but that they "were going to be captured as a measure of pressure".{{cite news|last=Palomino|first=Laura|title=El caso de extorsión denunciado por la defensa de Alex Saab|url=http://www.wradio.com.co/noticias/actualidad/el-caso-de-extorsion-denunciado-por-la-defensa-de-alex-saab/20181016/nota/3812264.aspx|date=16 October 2018|access-date=15 November 2018|work=W Radio|location=Colombia|language=es|quote=a través del celular facilitado para comunicarse con el agente de la Dijín, pudo grabar sus conversaciones, en donde se evidencia la corrupción que existe al interior de la Dijín}}

On 8 May 2019, the Colombian prosecutors office charged Saab with crimes of money laundering, a concert to commit crimes, illicit enrichment, exports and fictitious imports and an aggravated fraud for events related to his Shatex company. Since September 2018, he is considered a fugitive in Colombia for failing to attend any judicial proceeding even with a firm arrest warrant.{{cite news|title=Fiscalía le imputó cargos a Alex Saab, señalado contratista del chavismo|url=https://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/fiscalia-le-imputo-cargos-alex-saab-senalado-contratista-del-chavismo-articulo-859898|date=9 May 2019|access-date=23 May 2019|work=El Espectador}} Saab was found not guity of the Colombian charges in May 2024.

On 25 July 2019, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida charged Saab and Pulido with money laundering of up US$350 million related to a 2011-15 scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela's government-set exchange rate.

In March 2021, after three years of investigation, Swiss prosecutors concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Saab for money laundering.{{cite news |title=Swiss investigators end Alex Saab money laundering probe due to insufficient evidence |url=https://thebftonline.com/26/03/2021/swiss-investigators-end-alex-saab-money-laundering-probe-due-to-insufficient-evidence/ |access-date=29 April 2021 |work=The Business & Financial Times |date=26 March 2021}}

In November 2021 court records in the U.S. court case of an alleged ex-associate of Saab Bruce Bagley, (who has pled guilty to Laundering about US$2.5 million in deposits from overseas accounts that were controlled by Saab) claimed that an intermediary (later identified by Bagley as Jorge Luis Hernández) told Bagley the $2.5 million he received from Saab was to pay lawyers who were assisting Saab with his cooperation with the U.S. government, who in meetings provided information on the Maduro government to U.S. authorities. David Rivkin, one of Saab's attorneys, said Saab had not cooperated with American officials and the Venezuelan government were aware of all his activities. The meetings reportedly took place from 2017 until the U.S. money laundering charges were releveled in 2019.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-10|title=Court filings: Maduro ally met with US prior to arrest|url=https://apnews.com/article/university-of-miami-venezuela-miami-money-laundering-arrests-d898d9154a2c68965fd7780a27411bcf|access-date=2021-11-11|website=AP NEWS|language=en|quote=David Rivkin, one of Saab's attorneys, strongly rejected the claim that his client had ever cooperated with American officials as “totally false.” “At all times, Alex Saab has been a loyal citizen of Venezuela and has conducted all of his activities with the full knowledge and blessing of the government of Venezuela,” said Rivkin.}}{{Cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Luc|last2=Ulmer|first2=Alexandra|date=2021-11-11|title=Maduro ally Saab met with U.S. law enforcement years ago, court records show|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/alex-saab-gave-us-information-maduro-years-ago-ex-associate-says-2021-11-10/|access-date=2021-11-11}}

On 25 July 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 10 people and 13 companies (from Colombia, Hong Kong (China), Mexico, Panama, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S.) in "CLAP", which includes Nicolas Maduro's stepsons and Saab. According to a statement by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, "The corruption network that operates the CLAP program has allowed Maduro and his family members to steal from the Venezuelan people. They use food as a form of social control, to reward political supporters and punish opponents, all the while pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars through a number of fraudulent schemes."{{cite web|url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm741|title=Treasury Disrupts Corruption Network Stealing From Venezuela's Food Distribution Program, CLAP|date=25 July 2019|website=US Department of the Treasury}}{{cite web | last=Todd | first=Annie | title=Stepsons of Venezuelan President Sanctioned by the US | website=OCCRP | url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/10333-stepsons-of-venezuelan-president-sanctioned-by-the-us | date=29 July 2019|access-date=2021-10-19}}

The Maduro government rejected the sanctions, calling it sign of "desperation" by "the gringo empire." Maduro said "Imperialists, prepare for more defeats, because the CLAP in Venezuela will continue, no one takes the CLAP away from the people."{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-usa/u-s-sanctions-target-food-subsidy-scam-in-venezuela-idUSKCN1UK276?il=0|title=U.S. sanctions target food subsidy scam in Venezuela, charges businessman|date=25 July 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=29 July 2019}} A statement from the Venezuelan foreign ministry "denounces the repeated practice of economic terrorism by the US government against the Venezuelan people, announcing measures whose criminal purpose is to deprive all Venezuelans of their right to food."{{Cite news|url=https://primicia.com.ve/nacion/gobierno-venezolano-califica-sanciones-de-eeuu-como-terrorismo-economico/|title=Gobierno venezolano califica sanciones de EEUU como "terrorismo económico"|date=26 July 2019|work=primicia.com.ve|access-date=4 September 2020}}

According to Armando.Info, as a result of US investigations and sanctions, Saab moved his shell companies to Turkey.

In July 2021 the United Kingdom issued a series of sanctions that included Saab, which included the freezing of assets and travel bans. Álvaro Enrique Pulido, identified as Saab's associate, was also sanctioned, in both cases for ""exploiting two of Venezuela's public programs that were established to provide poor Venezuelans with affordable food and housing", saying that "They both benefited from improperly awarded contracts, in which promised goods were delivered at highly inflated prices. Their actions caused more suffering to Venezuelans who were already in poverty for their own private enrichment."{{Cite news|date=22 July 2021|title=Reino Unido impuso sanciones contra el empresario acusado de ser testaferro de Maduro|language=es|work=LM Neuquen|url=https://www.lmneuquen.com/reino-unido-impuso-sanciones-contra-el-empresario-acusado-ser-testaferro-maduro-n826330}}{{Cite web|date=2021-07-22|title=Britain sanctions Venezuelan President Maduro's envoy Saab|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/britain-sanctions-venezuelan-president-maduros-envoy-saab-2021-07-22/|access-date=2021-09-08|website=Reuters}}

On 12 June 2020, en route from Venezuela to Iran on a business jet, Alex Saab was arrested during a fuel stop at Cape Verde. Saab was arrested in accordance to an Interpol red notice in relation to his indictment for money laundering in the United States. The Venezuelan government stated the red notice had been issued a day after Saab was detained. Venezuela's foreign ministry said the Venezuelan government had employed Saab to obtain food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to help Venezuela combat the COVID-19 pandemic. After his arrest, Venezuela said Saab was a Venezuelan diplomat who was on a humanitarian mission to Iran to organise the exchange of Venezuelan gold for Iranian gasoline, an argument rejected by Cape Verde's Barlavento Court of Appeal.{{cite news|last1=Bartenstein|first1=Ben|last2=Hoije|first2=Katarina|last3=Almeida|first3=Henrique|date=18 March 2021|title=Maduro Financier Faces Extradition to U.S. After New Ruling|work=www.bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-17/maduro-financier-faces-extradition-to-u-s-after-court-ruling|access-date=18 June 2021}} While no extradition treaty exists between Cape Verde and the U.S.,{{cite web|last1=Segbefia|first1=Sedem|date=13 June 2021|title=The arrest, detention of Venezuela's Alex Saab in Cape Verde: One year on|url=https://thebftonline.com/13/06/2021/the-arrest-detention-of-venezuelas-alex-saab-in-cape-verde-one-year-on/|access-date=7 September 2021|website=Business & Financial Times}} legal experts have argued that Cape Verde is part of United Nations conventions that compel the country to comply with an Interpol red notice, regardless of the date when it was issued.{{Cite web|title=¿Puede EE.UU. extraditar a Alex Saab sin tratado de extradición con Cabo Verde?|url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/venezuela_abogado-alex-saab-denuncia-irregularidades-captura-cabo-verde/6064266.html|access-date=2021-09-11|website=Voice of America|date=16 June 2020 |language=es}}

The US deployed the Navy cruiser USS San Jacinto off Cape Verde from November to December 2020, on a secret mission to "deter Venezuela and Iran from plotting to spirit Mr. Saab away from the island". The New York Times reported that "hard-liners at the Justice and State Departments, including Elliott Abrams, the State Department's special envoy for Iran and Venezuela" were worried that Iranian or Venezuelan operatives could help Saab escape and that the US would "lose an unusual opportunity to punish Mr. Maduro".{{cite news|last1=Schmitt|first1=Eric|last2=Turkewitz|first2=Julie|date=22 December 2020|title=Navy Warship's Secret Mission Off West Africa Aims to Help Punish Venezuela|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/navy-cape-verde-venezuela.html|access-date=18 June 2021}}

Saab said in a June 2021 CNN interview that he had been tortured by the authorities in Cape Verde.{{cite news|last1=Cotovio|first1=Vasco|last2=Soares|first2=Isa|date=18 June 2021|title=Alleged financier for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro says he fears being extradited to the US|work=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/18/americas/alex-saab-maduro-detention-interview/index.html|access-date=19 June 2021}}

In August 2020, Saab asked Cape Verde's Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, to release him.{{Cite web|date=2020-08-10|title=Álex Saab pide a primer ministro de Cabo Verde que lo libere|url=https://elpitazo.net/politica/alex-saab-pide-a-primer-ministro-de-cabo-verde-que-lo-libere/|access-date=2021-09-08|website=El Pitazo|language=es}} The Russian government criticised the detention of Saab and the extradition request.{{cite news|date=12 August 2021|title=Russia Knocks US Over Planned 'Illegal' Extradition Of Alex Saab|work=Sahara Reporters|url=http://saharareporters.com/2021/08/12/russia-knocks-us-over-planned-%E2%80%98illegal%E2%80%99-extradition-alex-saab|access-date=8 September 2021}}

Saab's wife, Italian model Camila Fabbri, moved to Moscow with her family in early 2021.{{cite web|date=2021-02-17|title=La mujer de Álex Saab se muda a Moscú|url=https://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-mujer-alex-saab-muda-moscu-202102171648_noticia.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=ABC|language=es}}

Shortly after his detention, on 14 June, the foreign affairs minister appointed by Maduro, Jorge Arreaza, tweeted in support of Alex Saab, labeling his arrest as "arbitrary" and "illegal".{{cite web|date=2020-06-14|title=Álex Saab, supuesto testaferro de Nicolás Maduro, fue arrestado en Cabo Verde|url=https://www.france24.com/es/20200614-definen-alex-saab-presunto-testaferro-maduro|access-date=2021-07-10|website=France 24|language=es}} Journalist {{Interlanguage link|Roberto Deniz|es}} expressed surprise by the declaration, saying that after years denying or ignoring its relationship with Saab, the government now called him a "government agent" and a "Venezuelan citizen".{{Cite news|last=Deniz|first=Roberto|date=14 June 2020|title=El penúltimo vuelo de Alex Saab|language=es|work=Armando.info|url=https://armando.info/el-penultimo-vuelo-de-alex-saab/|access-date=26 July 2021|quote=Ha sido la detención y el temor de que sea deportado o extraditado a los Estados Unidos lo que rompió el silencio sepulcral mantenido durante años en torno a la figura de Alex Saab}}

After Alex Saab's detention, the Venezuelan government started deploying a support campaign in favour of Saab, using government social media accounts and filling Caracas with billboards, murals and graffitis to ask for his liberation. The government designed a communication campaign to build an alternative narrative of Saab's affair, showing him as an ally entrepreneur with diplomatic powers that with his efforts had managed to evade economic sanctions and made possible the arrival of food and industrial parts to Venezuela.{{cite web|last=Moleiro|first=Alonso|date=2021-02-24|title=El chavismo despliega una campaña en defensa del empresario Alex Saab|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-02-24/el-chavismo-despliega-una-campana-en-defensa-del-empresario-alex-saab.html|access-date=2021-09-07|website=El País|language=es}} In February 2021, the Venezuelan government organized a concert in support of Alex Saab in Caracas' Diego Ibarra Square,{{cite web|date=2021-02-21|title=El chavismo pide la liberación de presunto testaferro de Maduro|url=https://www.larazon.es/america/20210221/mm2chby4gvf5tlxmif5tmw4z3q.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=La Razón|language=es}} asking for his release. Two ruling party deputies visited Nigeria's embassy in Venezuela, also asking for his liberation.

File:Andrónico Rodríguez at the People's Summit in Belgium. 18 July 2023, Plurinational Legislative Assembly, Brussels. (53056266339).jpg.|260x260px]]

The same month, employees of Salva Foods, which operates in La Guaira Port and imports and assembles CLAP boxes, said that they were threatened by the company's board with massive layoffs and labor benefits removal if they refused to participate in videos or protests to demand the release of Saab, who is connected to the company.{{Cite web|last=Noriega|first=Nadeska|date=2021-02-03|title=Trabajadores de Salva Foods denuncian ser obligados a manifestar apoyo para Alex Saab|url=https://elpitazo.net/gran-caracas/trabajadores-de-salva-foods-denuncian-ser-obligados-a-manifestar-apoyo-para-alex-saab/|access-date=2021-09-08|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}

On 25 August 2020, the Attorney General of Cape Verde opened an investigation into two men who posed as representatives of the Cape Verde government and travelled to Venezuela to discuss Saab's case with President Maduro.{{cite web|date=August 25, 2020|title=La Fiscalía de Cabo Verde imputó a los dos emisarios que viajaron a Caracas para tratar el caso de Alex Saab|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2020/08/25/la-fiscalia-de-cabo-verde-imputo-a-los-dos-emisarios-que-viajaron-a-caracas-para-tratar-el-caso-de-alex-saab/|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=infobae|language=es-ES}}

An intelligence report accessed by the Financial Times in early 2021 analysed more than half a million Twitter posts related to Alex Saab and concluded that Nicolás Maduro's administration "and/or its proxies (witting or unwitting) are involved in a coordinated campaign to influence both the government of Cape Verde and its population to obstruct Alex Saab's extradition".{{cite news|title=Venezuela accused of waging Twitter war to free dealmaker|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ac40d3bc-e742-417c-9cbb-cf1a1d849c93|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Financial Times|date=14 March 2021|last1=Long|first1=Gideon|last2=Stott|first2=Michael}}

As a response to a BuzzFeed News and the Digital Africa Research Lab (DigiAfricaLab) investigation, Twitter suspended over 1,500 accounts in April 2021 for manipulating the #FreeAlexSaab hashtag, a hashtag used since mid-January as part of a campaign by a Nigerian public relations firm and a United Kingdom-based nonprofit called Digital Good Governance for Africa that paid influencers to tweet about Saab in an effort to sway public opinion and court proceedings in Nigeria and Cape Verde.{{cite web|title=Why Do A Bunch Of Nigerian Twitter Influencers Want This Alleged Money Launderer To Go Free? They're Being Paid.|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/nigerian-twitter-campaign-alex-saab|access-date=2021-05-12|website=BuzzFeed News|date=9 April 2021 }}

In June 2021, the platform Cazadores de Fake News concluded that a marketing company called PromoCoreGH was leading an astroturfing campaign in Ghana in support of Saab, after analyzing 151,725 tweets and fifty Twitter accounts.{{cite web|date=2021-06-11|title=Cazadores de Fake News: empresa de marketing dirige campaña pro Alex Saab en Ghana|url=https://elpitazo.net/internacional/cazadores-de-fake-news-empresa-de-marketing-dirige-campana-pro-alex-saab-en-ghana/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}{{Cite web|date=2021-06-10|title=Operación Alex Ghana: campaña de influencia a favor de Alex Saab en Ghana impulsada por "laboratorio" de Twitter|url=https://cazadoresdefakenews.info/operacion-alex-ghana/|access-date=2021-09-08|website=Cazadores de Fake News|language=es}}

In June 2021, the Venezuelan government started a YouTube series dedicated to Saab.{{cite web|date=2021-06-19|title=El régimen estrena en youtube una serie dedicada a Alex Saab|url=https://www.ntn24.com/america-latina/el-regimen-estrena-en-youtube-una-serie-dedicada-alex-saab-135890|access-date=2021-09-07|website=NTN24|language=es}} On 17 October 2021 it organized a demonstration in support of Saab.

Code Pink started collecting signatures to ask for Saab's release in October 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-18|title=Code Pink pide al departamento de Justicia gringo liberación de Alex Saab|url=https://ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/politica/code-pink-pide-al-departamento-de-justicia-gringo-liberacion-de-alex-saab/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-19|website=Web Archive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018170017/https://ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/politica/code-pink-pide-al-departamento-de-justicia-gringo-liberacion-de-alex-saab/|archive-date=2021-10-18}}

The Madrid-based law firm of former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón will represent Alex Saab in the extradition case.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-corruption-idUSKCN24N1VJ|title=Wikileaks lawyer Garzon to represent Maduro associate in U.S. extradition case|newspaper=Reuters|date=22 July 2020|via=www.reuters.com}} Saab's defense team said that Saab "is the key figure for the U.S. in their plan to overthrow Nicolás Maduro and keep suffocating the Venezuelan people" and that Saab was on a mission to Iran as a special envoy of Maduro to negotiate fuel and humanitarian supplies at the time of his arrest.{{cite web|date=August 28, 2020|title=Detained Colombia businessman was negotiating with Iran for Venezuela, lawyers say|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-iran/detained-colombia-businessman-was-negotiating-with-iran-for-venezuela-lawyers-say-idUSKBN25O1Q9|access-date=August 28, 2020|website=Reuters}}

On 30 November 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice ordered Cape Verde to grant house arrest to Alex Saab.{{cite web|date=2020-12-02|title=El Tribunal de la CEDEAO ordena a Cabo Verde el arresto domiciliario de Saab|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20201202/49852102108/el-tribunal-de-la-cedeao-ordena-a-cabo-verde-el-arresto-domiciliario-de-saab.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=La Vanguardia|language=es}} On 15 December, the Cape Verde Court of Appeals ruled to refuse the decision, arguing that ECOWAS Court lacks the jurisdiction to force Cape Verde to take decisions.{{cite web|date=2020-12-15|title=Un tribunal de Cabo Verde rechaza el arresto domiciliario para Saab|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20201215/6124098/tribunal-cabo-verde-rechaza-arresto-domiciliario-saab.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=La Vanguardia|language=es}} Cape Verde also asked the ECOWAS Court to rescind the decision.{{Cite web|last=Bauer|first=Paula Andrea|date=2021-05-05|title=Cabo Verde pide a la Cedeao anular sentencia a favor de Alex Saab|url=https://elpitazo.net/internacional/cabo-verde-pide-a-la-cedeao-anular-sentencia-a-favor-de-alex-saab/|access-date=2021-09-08|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}

On 29 December, Nicolás Maduro appointed Alex Saab as ambassador to the African Union, seeking to send Saab to Ethiopia and to prevent his extradition.{{cite web|date=2020-12-29|title=Maduro nombra a Álex Saab embajador ante la Unión Africana para evitar extradición|url=https://elpitazo.net/politica/gobierno-de-maduro-nombra-a-alex-saab-embajador-ante-la-union-africana-para-evitar-extradicion/|access-date=2021-03-15|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}

On 5 January 2021, the Cape Verde Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Alex Saab's extradition.{{cite web|last=Manetto|first=Francesco|date=2021-01-05|title=La justicia de Cabo Verde acuerda la extradición a EE UU de Alex Saab, presunto testaferro de Maduro|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-01-05/la-justicia-de-cabo-verde-acuerda-la-extradicion-a-ee-uu-de-alex-saab-presunto-testaferro-de-maduro.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=El País|language=es}}{{cite web | last=Pineda Sleinan | first=Julett | title=Cape Verde Court Approves Extradition of Maduro's Ally to the US | website=OCCRP | url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13580-cape-verde-court-approves-extradition-of-maduro-s-ally-to-the-us | date=5 January 2021|access-date=2021-10-25}} On 21 January, authorities of Cape Verde announced that his transfer to house arrest was approved.{{cite web|date=2021-01-21|title=Colombian businessmen tied to Maduro going to house arrest|url=https://apnews.com/article/business-government-contracts-africa-arrests-colombia-6afff403fb2f06a32e30ad124ab80d89|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Associated Press}} Experts consulted by Voice of America declared that after the decision, the risk of his escape increased "exponentially".{{cite web|title=Riesgo de fuga de Alex Saab aumentó "exponencialmente", dicen expertos |url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/venezuela/riesgo-de-fuga-de-alex-saab-aumento-exponencialmente-expertos|access-date=2021-03-15|website=Voice of America|date=25 January 2021 |language=es}}

On 22 February 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied a request to cancel Saab's extradition request to the United States.{{cite web|date=2021-02-22|title=EE. UU. se niega a anular la orden de fugitivo contra Álex Saab|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/unidad-investigativa/alex-saab-ee-uu-se-niega-a-anular-la-orden-de-fugitivo-contra-alex-saab-568785|access-date=2021-03-15|website=El Tiempo|language=es}}

On 15 March 2021, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled against Saab's extradition and ordered that he be freed because he was detained before the Interpol Red Notice was issued. It ordered Cape Verde to pay Saab 200,000 euros in compensation. Decisions of the Court of Justice are binding, but the court does not have the authority to enforce its judgements in member states, including Cape Verde.{{cite web|date=2021-03-15|title=Un tribunal regional africano falla contra la extradición a EE UU de Alex Saab, presunto testaferro de Nicolás Maduro|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-03-15/un-tribunal-regional-africano-falla-contra-la-extradicion-a-ee-uu-de-alex-saab-presunto-testaferro-de-nicolas-maduro.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=EFE|publisher=El País|language=es}} On 17 March, Cape Verde's Supreme Tribunal approved Saab's extradition request.{{cite web|date=2021-03-17|title=Cabo Verde extraditará a Álex Saab a Estados Unidos|url=https://www.larazon.es/internacional/20210317/sbyitue3xbgupf54ytgb5om2c4.html|access-date=2021-03-25|website=La Razón|language=es}} Cape Verde later asked the ECOWAS to nullify the decision in favor of Alex Saab.{{cite web|date=2021-05-05|title=Cabo Verde pide a la Cedeao anular sentencia a favor de Alex Saab|url=https://elpitazo.net/internacional/cabo-verde-pide-a-la-cedeao-anular-sentencia-a-favor-de-alex-saab/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}

By March 2021, Saab's legal defense was estimated to have cost $170 million.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=Afirman que la defensa de Alex Saab ha costado 170 millones de dólares|url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/videos-afirman-que-la-defensa-de-alex-saab-ha-costado-170-millones-de-dolares/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=El Nacional|language=es}}{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=Estiman que defensa de Alex Saab le ha costado a Venezuela 170 millones de dólares|url=https://www.analitica.com/actualidad-internacional/estiman-que-defensa-de-alex-saab-le-ha-costado-a-venezuela-170-millones-de-dolares/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Analitica|language=es}}{{Cite web|date=2021-03-17|title=EN DETALLE: Al menos $170 millones de dólares ha costado la defensa de Álex Saab en Cabo Verde|url=https://albertonews.com/internacionales/en-detalle-al-menos-170-millones-de-dolares-ha-costado-la-defensa-de-alex-saab-en-cabo-verde/|access-date=2021-10-19|website=AlbertoNews|language=es}}

In June 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Committee asked Cape Verde to suspend Saab's extradition and to ensure he has access to specialised medical care chosen by him. The committee said it wanted time to analyse Saab's case.{{cite news |title=Defensa de Alex Saab celebró solicitud para frenar su extradición a EE UU |url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/defensa-de-alex-saab-celebro-solicitud-de-onu-para-frenar-su-extradicion-a-ee-uu/ |access-date=7 September 2021 |work=EL NACIONAL |date=9 June 2021 |language=es}} Cape Verde's Supreme Tribunal rejected the UN committee's request in a 39 pages-long decision, ruling that "Cape Verde is not forced to comply with the request" and that "sufficiently persuasive reasons to justify its reception do not exist". The Tribunal's three judges considered that the requests to the different Member States of the committee "are part of a constructive dialogue" that does not imply "any relationship of subordination", but rather of "complementarity", writing in the ruling that "This body presents its interpretation, which the State considers and responds if it freely deems it necessary to diverge with them". The justices also suggested that the committee did not have knowledge about Saab's record.{{cite web|title=Tribunal de Cabo Verde desestima solicitud de un comité de la ONU sobre Alex Saab |url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/venezuela/tribunal-cabo-verde-desestima-solicitud-comite-onu-sobre-alex-saab|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Voice of America|date=21 July 2021 |language=es}} In response, Saab's lawyer said the court had made a legal, strategic, and ethical mistake and was "send[ing] a clear message to the world that it can exercise its sovereignty to violate human rights while ignoring the norms of international human rights law to which it has subscribed".{{Cite web|title=Tribunal de Cabo Verde desestima solicitud de un comité de la ONU sobre Alex Saab|url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/venezuela/tribunal-cabo-verde-desestima-solicitud-comite-onu-sobre-alex-saab|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Voice of America|date=21 July 2021 |language=es}}

On 6 August 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit agreed to hear an appeal by Saab's defence team, which was seeking to have the US courts recognise his diplomatic immunity. The US was required to lodge a response within 30 days.{{cite news |title=Venezuelan Diplomat, Alex Saab's Defence Wins Procedural Victory in US Court |url=http://saharareporters.com/2021/08/10/venezuelan-diplomat-alex-saabs-defence-wins-procedural-victory-us-court |access-date=3 September 2021 |work=Sahara Reporters |date=10 August 2021}}

The Constitutional Court of Cape Verde heard the parties on 13 August 2021, after Alex Saab's lawyers appealed the decision of the country's Supreme Court of Justice to authorize his extradition to the United States.{{cite web|title=Tribunal Constitucional de Cabo Verde escuchará caso de Alex Saab la próxima semana |url=https://www.vozdeamerica.com/venezuela/tribunal-constitucional-de-cabo-verde-caso-de-alex-saab-13-de-agosto|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Voice of America|date=6 August 2021 |language=es}}

File:Constitutional Tribunal of Cape Verde Alex Saab's extradition approval.pdf

In August 2021, Saab's defence team asked that the site of his detention be moved from the island of Sal to Praia. It said Saab's health had deteriorated and that he needed access to specialist medical care for his cancer. On 1 September 2021, the Barlavento Court of Appeal granted Saab's request. Saab's defence team asked the Cape Verde courts to refuse Saab's extradition on the grounds that there were legal irregularities associated with his arrest. By September 2021, the request had reached the Cape Verde Constitutional Court.{{cite news|date=2 September 2021|title=Constitutional Court 7-Day Delay in Decision Continues to Detain Venezuelan Diplomat|language=en|work=Al Bawaba|url=https://www.albawaba.com/news/constitutional-court-7-day-delay-decision-continues-detain-venezuelan-diplomat-1445173|access-date=3 September 2021}}

On 8 September 2021 the Constitutional Tribunal of Cape Verde rejected Saab's defence appeal and approved Saab's extradition to the United States on money laundering charges. The 194 page ruling agreed with the decision of two lower courts, the Barlovento Appeals Tribunal and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, who had authorized the extradition in 2020 and March 2021, respectively, as well as supported the position of Cape Verde's government.{{cite web|date=2021-09-07|title=Cabo Verde autoriza la extradición a EE UU de Alex Saab, presunto testaferro de Maduro|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-09-07/cabo-verde-autoriza-la-extradicion-a-ee-uu-de-alex-saab-presunto-testaferro-de-maduro.html|access-date=2021-09-07|website=El País|language=es}}{{cite web|date=2021-09-07|title=Cabo Verde aprueba la extradición a EEUU de Alex Saab, supuesto testaferro de Maduro|url=https://www.europapress.es/internacional/noticia-cabo-verde-aprueba-extradicion-eeuu-alex-saab-supuesto-testaferro-maduro-20210907234302.html|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Europa Press|language=es}}{{cite web|date=7 September 2021|title=El Tribunal Constitucional de Cabo Verde habilitó la extradición de Alex Saab a Estados Unidos|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2021/09/07/el-tribunal-constitucional-de-cabo-verde-habilito-la-extradicion-de-alex-saab-a-estados-unidos/|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Infobae}}

On 14 September 2021, Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Venezuelan government's delegation to talks with the Venezuelan opposition mediated by Norway taking place in Mexico, declared that Saab had been appointed a member of the government's negotiation team.{{Cite web|date=2021-09-14|title=Jorge Rodríguez informa que Alex Saab se incorporará al diálogo|url=https://elpitazo.net/politica/jorge-rodriguez-informa-que-alex-saab-se-incorporara-al-dialogo-en-mexico/|access-date=2021-09-14|website=El Pitazo|language=es}}{{cite web | title=Venezuela names US fugitive to team negotiating with foes | website=The Independent | date=2021-09-14 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-cape-verde-miami-mexico-b1920277.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914220441/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-cape-verde-miami-mexico-b1920277.html |archive-date=2021-09-14 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | access-date=2021-10-25}}

Saab was extradited to the United States on 16 October 2021{{Cite web|date=2021-10-16|title=Alex Saab será extraditado a Estados Unidos: las claves del caso saboteado por el chavismo|url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/alex-saab-sera-extraditado-a-estados-unidos-las-claves-de-un-proceso-dinamitado-por-el-chavismo/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=El Nacional|language=es}}{{Cite web|title=Duro golpe al régimen de Nicolás Maduro: Alex Saab está en vuelo a los EEUU|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2021/10/16/duro-golpe-al-regimen-de-nicolas-maduro-alex-saab-esta-en-vuelo-a-los-eeuu/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Infobae|date=16 October 2021 |language=es}}{{Cite web|date=2021-10-16|title=Álex Saab es extraditado a Estados Unidos, según un medio de Cabo Verde|url=https://alnavio.es/alex-saab-es-extraditado-a-estados-unidos-segun-un-medio-de-cabo-verde/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=ALnavío|language=es}}{{cite news |author=AP staff |url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/10/16/breaking-news/venezuela-presidents-ally-extradited-to-u-s-on-money-laundering-charges/ |title=Venezuela president's ally extradited to U.S. on money laundering charges |agency=Associated Press |via=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |date=October 16, 2021 |access-date=October 16, 2021}} and charged with eight counts of money laundering, accused of moving $350 million out of Venezuela into accounts controlled in the United States and other countries, as well as falsifying documents to obtain contracts for the construction of affordable housing, facing up to twenty years in prison. Saab pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the extradition, the Venezuelan government pulled out of the Mexico talks in protest,{{cite web | title='Brutal aggression': Venezuela halts talks with opposition after envoy extradited to US | website=the Guardian | date=2021-10-17 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/17/brutal-aggression-venezuela-halts-talks-with-opposition-after-envoy-extradited-to-us | access-date=2021-10-25}} having made Saab's participation in the official team a condition of the negotiations.

Prosecutors requested that seven of the initial eight July 2019 indictment charges be dropped to comply with assurances to the Cape Verde government in seeking Saab's extradition, who were promised that Saab would only be charged on a single count to comply with Cape Verde's laws regarding the maximum imprisonment term. Following the request, on 1 November 2021, American Judge Robert Scola dismissed seven out of eight money laundering charges against Saab.{{cite news |author=Alexandra Ulmer|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-judge-dismisses-most-money-laundering-charges-against-maduro-ally-saab-2021-11-01/ |title=U.S. judge dismisses most money laundering charges against Maduro ally Saab|work=Reuters|date=November 1, 2021 |access-date=November 1, 2021}}

According to judicial documents published on 16 February 2022, Saab became a DEA informant in 2018, during which time he shared information with the United States justice system about the bribes that he offered to Venezuelan officials, his illicit activities and contracts with the Venezuelan government, planning to turn himself in. According to the documents, Saab met with American authorities between August 2016 and June 2019, and signed a cooperation agreement with the DEA in 2018. The documents also mentioned how in another meeting in June 2018 Saab admitted paying bribes related to food supply contracts. The documents state that, as part of the cooperation agreement with the American authorities, Saab wired over $10 million obtained through said operations to the DEA and held several meetings with agents and prosecutors in Colombia and Europe. According to prosecutors, the United States stopped considering him as a collaborator after Saab missed a 30 May 2019 deadline set for him to turn himself in and face charges in Florida.

In the hearing where the documents were revealed, one of Saab's defense lawyers, Neil Schuster, pleaded with Judge Scola that the information be kept secret, fearing that the physical safety of Saab's family in Venezuela could be put at risk if the Maduro government learned about it. When the documents were presented in 2021, the prosecution also requested them be kept private because at the time it thought it would be risky for him and his family for the details of the collaboration to be known in Venezuela. However, during this hearing, prosecutors stated that it was time for them to be made public and downplayed any dangers, saying that Saab's legal team had not taken them up on an offer to assist his family in leaving Venezuela. Scola agreed, stating that the documents could not be kept secret indefinitely and that the access to criminal processes public's right outweighed the concerns about the dangers to his family. He also said the court had not heard valid arguments to support the claim that disclosure of the documents would endanger Saab's family in Venezuela, after nearly a year.{{cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Joshua|date=16 February 2022|title=Businessman close to Maduro was DEA informant, records show|language=en|work=AP News|url=https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-colombia-caribbean-miami-nicolas-maduro-f6d107240cd8085f54d192b9f7b549f3|access-date=19 February 2022|quote=Scola agreed, saying the public's right to access criminal proceedings outweighs any concerns about his family's safety.}}

Another of Saab's lawyers that sought that the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of diplomatic immunity, David B. Rivkin, rejected that Saab cooperated. Rivkin said that the only purpose of Saab's meetings with US officials was to "confirm that neither he nor any company related to him had done anything wrong" and that the meetings were held with the "full knowledge and support" of the Maduro government. Rivkin also said that the release of the documents were an attempt to harm Venezuela and its relationship with Saab, and that it showed that the government's case was weak. Camilla Fabri, Saab's wife, also rejected on Twitter that cooperation took place, declared that the U.S. was "brazenly lying, like it did with Russia and Iraq" and that her husband "would never harm Venezuela".

Schuster asked the judge to release Saab on bail following his cooperation with the U.S. government. Scola rejected the request, citing Saab's attempts to avoid extradition, among other reasons. The judge set the date for the next hearing for 11 October.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wlrn.org/news/2022-02-16/accused-venezuelan-money-launderer-exposed-as-a-u-s-informant-court-records-say|title=Accused Venezuelan money launderer exposed as a U.S. informant, court records say|date=February 16, 2022|website=www.wlrn.org}}

File:Alex Saab's Pardon.pdf

On 7 November, prosecutors presented documents casting doubt on defense evidence to argue that Saab, showing a printed copy of the Official Gazette of Venezuela edition No. 6,373 from 26 April 2018 obtained from the United States Library of Congress that contradicted an electronic version introduced by the defense reportedly showing that by presidential decree Saab had been appointed special envoy. They also introduced a copy of Saab's purported diplomatic passport with a picture and signature matching another, non-diplomatic passport issued nearly two years later. The prosecution argued that the documents suggested potential forgery, and that if Saab was indeed a special envoy, the Maduro administration would have immediately referred to Saab as such, which did not happen until months later, along with the existence of a supposed diplomatic passport.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-08 |title=Venezuela's bid to save 'diplomat' from US charges takes hit |url=https://apnews.com/article/iran-africa-venezuela-caribbean-miami-6b361f16ee66e66ac2efaf090fa6b258 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=Associated Press}}{{Cite web |date=2022-11-08 |title=Fiscalía de EEUU: Defensa de Alex Saab presentó pruebas forjadas |trans-title=U.S. Attorney's Office: Alex Saab's defense presented forged evidence |url=https://runrun.es/noticias/488001/fiscalia-de-eeuu-defensa-de-alex-saab-presento-pruebas-forjadas/ |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=Runrunes}}

In December 2023, Saab was released from jail to be sent back to Venezuela in exchange for ten American prisoners being held in Venezuela in a prisoner exchange.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-20 |title=The US has released an ally of Venezuela's president in a swap for jailed Americans, the AP learns |url=https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-maduro-saab-detained-americans-biden-d7148a34dd009d5bab3d5f50c28ed93e |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=AP News |language=en}} President Joe Biden issued a pardon to Saab with the following conditions:{{Cite web |last=Mozo Zambrano |first=Reynaldo |date=2023-12-22 |title=Estas son las condiciones para que indultaran a Alex Saab |url=http://efectococuyo.com/politica/estas-son-las-condiciones-para-que-indultaran-a-alex-saab/ |access-date=2023-12-28 |website=Efecto Cocuyo |language=es}}

1. Alex Saab must leave the United States.
2. Saab shall thereafter remain outside the boundaries of the United States, its territories and possessions.
3. Alex Saab shall not commit any additional crimes against the United States or in violation of the laws of the United States after acceptance of the pardon.
4. Saab will waive and release any and all claims, demands, rights and causes of action of any kind and nature against the United States of America, its agents, servants and employees.
5. As an individual and on behalf of the entities he controlled or was the beneficial owner of, he will waive any and all future claims and challenges and relinquish any and all funds and property already seized or subject to forfeiture in the United States in connection with the prosecution of offenses subject to the pardon.
6. Saab will not accept or receive any financial benefit directly or indirectly, in any form, or amount, from any book, film or other publication or production, in any form or medium, about his situation.

Nicolás Maduro appointed Saab as president of the International Investment Centre of Venezuela after his return to Venezuela.{{cite web |last1=Ospina |first1=Daniel |title=Alex Saab fue absuelto en proceso por lavado de activos en Colombia |url=https://www.infobae.com/colombia/2024/05/17/alex-saab-fue-absuelto-en-proceso-por-lavado-de-activos-en-colombia/ |website=infobae |access-date=18 May 2024 |language=es-ES |date=17 May 2024}}

Maduro appointed Saab to the position of Minister of People's Power for Industry and National Production on 18 October 2024.{{cite web |last1=Delgado |first1=Antonio Maria |title=Alex Saab, once charged by U.S. with money laundering, named Venezuela’s industry minister |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article294188019.html |website=Miami Herald |access-date=19 October 2024 |date=18 October 2024}}

• Citgo Six
• Narcosobrinos affair
• Operation Money Badger

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.cazadoresdefakenews.info/logbook-alex-saabs-cyber-infoop Logbook of pro-Alex Saab's cyber information operation] - Cazadores de Fake News, 24 October 2021
• {{Cite episode|title=A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro's Venezuela|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=WGBH|date=May 14, 2024|season=42|number=16|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/a-dangerous-assignment-uncovering-corruption-maduro-venezuela/|access-date=May 19, 2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saab, Alex}}

Category:1971 births

Category:Colombian businesspeople

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Category:Corruption in Venezuela

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Category:People named in the Panama Papers

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Category:People pardoned by Joe Biden

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Category:People extradited to the United States

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