Alex Saab Faces US Money Laundering Charges Over Venezuelan Food & Oil Scheme

Former Venezuelan Industry Minister Alex Saab has appeared in a federal court in Florida after US prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing him of orchestrating a major international money laundering conspiracy tied to Venezuela’s CLAP food subsidy programme and illicit oil trading operations. The case marks one of the most significant US anti-corruption and sanctions-related prosecutions connected to the Maduro regime in recent years and underscores Washington’s continued focus on Venezuelan financial networks using the US banking system.

According to the Department of Justice, Saab allegedly conspired with Venezuelan officials and commercial intermediaries to secure lucrative Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción (CLAP) contracts through bribery and corrupt political relationships. Prosecutors claim Saab and his associates manipulated a programme designed to deliver subsidised food to vulnerable Venezuelans by inflating prices, misrepresenting the origin and quality of food imports, and diverting substantial sums intended for humanitarian purposes. The indictment alleges the network relied on shell companies, falsified invoices, fraudulent shipping records and layered financial transactions to conceal the movement of funds and obscure the true beneficiaries of the scheme.

US authorities further allege the operation evolved as Venezuela’s economic crisis deepened and sanctions pressure intensified. Between 2019 and January 2026, Saab and his co-conspirators allegedly gained access to billions of dollars’ worth of oil owned by state energy company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). Prosecutors claim the oil was sold through deceptive arrangements designed to evade sanctions scrutiny, with proceeds subsequently transferred through US financial institutions to promote and conceal the wider corruption scheme. The allegations place the case squarely within broader US enforcement efforts targeting sanctions evasion, trade-based money laundering and politically exposed persons linked to the Maduro government.

The Department of Justice stated that hundreds of millions of dollars connected to the alleged fraud moved through or into US bank accounts, giving American authorities jurisdiction over the case. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Saab would be held accountable under US law, while Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said the government would continue pursuing foreign actors who exploit the US financial system to launder corruption proceeds. Investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations all linked the case to wider efforts to dismantle transnational criminal and financial networks operating across Latin America.

For compliance teams, the prosecution highlights continuing regulatory concern around Venezuela-linked trade finance, commodity transactions and correspondent banking exposure. The allegations also reinforce longstanding red flags associated with shell company structures, opaque commodity trading chains, falsified trade documentation and the misuse of humanitarian procurement programmes for corruption and sanctions evasion purposes. Financial institutions handling cross-border payments involving high-risk jurisdictions, state-owned entities or politically exposed persons are likely to face continued scrutiny from US enforcement agencies.

Saab has been charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors emphasised that the indictment contains allegations only and that Saab remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Read the press release here.