Alex Saab pleads guilty in US money-laundering case tied to alleged bribery scheme

Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab has pleaded guilty in a US court to a money-laundering charge linked to an alleged bribery scheme involving public contracts in Venezuela. The plea marks a significant development in a long-running federal case that has followed Saab for years. He also agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations, according to the court record.

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As part of the agreement, Saab accepted that he will hand over $195 million derived from the corruption scheme. Prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence at the lower end of the guideline range and could seek further reductions if his cooperation proves useful. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and the deal could affect investigations involving four co-defendants whose names have not been disclosed.

Saab, 54, appeared before Judge Kathleen Williams and told the court that he takes Zoloft daily, along with other medication, for what he described as post-traumatic stress disorder after his 2020 arrest. US authorities have investigated him for more than a decade, and he was first charged in 2019. He was arrested in 2020 during a refuelling stop in Cape Verde, after Venezuelan officials said he was on a humanitarian mission bound for Iran.

The case has wider significance because Saab has long been described by US authorities as a close ally of Nicolás Maduro and a key figure in handling money for the Venezuelan leader. That makes the plea agreement potentially important not only for the financial case itself, but also for any evidence it may provide about the structure of alleged corruption networks around the Venezuelan government. The development also comes against the backdrop of years of tension between Washington and Caracas over sanctions, corruption allegations and political disputes.

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Saab's legal history has already intersected with high-level diplomacy. He was pardoned in 2023 by then president Joe Biden in exchange for the release of several US citizens held in Venezuela, in a deal linked to efforts to encourage free presidential elections. That pardon was later criticised by Republicans and senior federal law-enforcement officials, who reopened investigations into other alleged offences not covered by the clemency.

What remains unclear is how much Saab will ultimately provide to investigators and whether his cooperation will lead to charges or testimony against other figures. Prosecutors have indicated that any sentence reduction will depend on the value of that assistance. The next key issue will be whether the plea produces new evidence in the broader federal cases connected to Saab and to Maduro.

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