Colombian businessman Alex Saab, long considered a key financial operator for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, stunned observers within the Venezuelan regime when he pleaded guilty in a US court to money laundering tied to two major schemes: the misuse of Venezuela’s government-subsidized food program, known as CLAP boxes, and illicit oil dealings. The abrupt shift—from a defiant figure shielding the regime to a cooperating defendant—took less than three months, fueling speculation that his change of heart may be linked to Maduro’s own recent imprisonment in a nearby cell.
But sources close to the case tell EL TIEMPO’s investigative unit that two other developments may be weighing just as heavily on Saab, and could extend legal exposure to people closest to him. The first involves his son, Shadi Saab, whose name reportedly surfaces in a network of shell companies accused of illegally diverting the CLAP food boxes—a program originally meant to distribute subsidized groceries to Venezuelan families amid the country’s economic crisis, but which prosecutors say became a vehicle for fraud.
The second matter concerns shipments of Colombian gold, an issue reportedly being tracked separately by the FBI as part of the broader investigation into Saab’s financial network.
Together, these threads suggest Saab’s legal troubles—and those of his family and associates—may be far from over. Read the full investigation at El Tiempo for more details.
Source: El hijo de Alex Saab y cargamentos de oro: los dos capítulos en el juicio contra el llamado testaferro de Maduro (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Unknown author, CC0 1.0 (via Openverse).