Alex Saab

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Saab and the second or maternal family name is Morán.
Alex Saab
Picture of Alex Saab provided by the United States Department of the Treasury
Minister of Industry and National Production
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 October 2024
PresidentNicolás Maduro
Preceded byPedro Tellechea
Personal details
Born
Alex Nain Saab Morán

(1971-12-21) December 21, 1971 (age 52)
Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
CitizenshipVenezuelan[1]
Antiguan[2]
OccupationBusinessman, politician
Known forClose relationship with the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro

Alex Nain Saab Morán (born 21 December 1971)[3] is a Colombian businessman,[4][5] who has served as the Venezuela's Minister of Industry and National Production since 18 October 2024.

Saab was the subject of journalistic investigations for conducting businesses estimated at US$135 million with the Venezuelan government,[6] while other Colombian businessmen had stopped exporting to Venezuela due to uncertainty regarding payments and tight exchange controls.[7] Saab's name has appeared in multiple ICIJ leaks including the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers and the FinCEN Files.[8][9][10][11][12]

Saab was enriched by the materials supplier business of the Housing Mission in Venezuela. 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.[13] He later sold food to Venezuela for more than US$200 million in a contract signed by President Nicolás Maduro.[14][15] The food was later resold in Venezuela for 112% more than its original price.[16]

Saab has been investigated by Colombian authorities for allegedly laundering US$25 million between 2004 and 2011. On 8 May 2019, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia indicted Saab with charges of money laundering, concert to commit crimes, illicit enrichment, fictitious exports and imports, and aggravated fraud for events related to his Shatex company.[17] During the course of these investigations, his accounting auditors were arrested and charged by the prosecutor's office.[18] Both Saab and his accountant were acquitted of the Colombian charges in May 2024.[19]

During a fuel stop at Cape Verde, Alex Saab was arrested while on his way from Venezuela to Iran on a business jet on 12 June 2020. Saab was arrested in accordance to an Interpol red notice in relation to his indictment in the United States, accused of money laundering.[20][21] Saab's extradition to the United States was approved by the Barlovento Appeals Tribunal, Cape Verde's Supreme Court of Justice and its Constitutional Court.[22][23][24]

The Venezuelan government denied or ignored any relationship with Saab for years,[25][26] but after his arrest in Cape Verde it started deploying a support campaign in favour of Saab and to prevent his extradition, using government social media accounts and filling Caracas with billboards, murals and graffitis asking for his release,[27] organizing demonstrations in his support,[28][27][29] and starting a YouTube series about him.[30]

He was extradited to the United States on 16 October 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.[31] He faced up to twenty years in US prison.[32][33] Maduro's government suspended negotiation talks with the political opposition as a response.[34] According to court documents released in 2022, Saab became a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant in 2018, during which time he shared information about the bribes that he offered to Venezuelan officials and contracts with the government.[35][31]

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.[36]

  1. ^ "Régimen reveló que Alex Saab posee nacionalidad venezolana en un comunicado para exigir su libertad". NTN24 (in Spanish). 14 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Cabinet cuts ties with controversial Colombian". The Daily Observer. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Barranquillero Álex Saab es socio de Maduro: exfiscal Ortega". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 23 August 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Capturan al revisor fiscal y al contador de empresas de Alex Saab". El Espectador (in Spanish). Colombia. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  5. ^ Salama, Samir (30 September 2018). "Alex Saab, Hezbollah's money man in Latin America, arrested in Cape Verde". Gulf News. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Alex Saab, el barranquillero que habría lavado US$ 135 millones del chavismo". pulzo.com (in Spanish). 30 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Capturaron al revisor fiscal y al contador de Alex Saab". El Nacional (in Spanish). Venezuela. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018. El empresario de Barranquilla es señalado por ser contratista del chavismo
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "FinCEN Files: Un huracán de dinero de Alex Saab, el "testaferro de Nicolás Maduro", se formó sobre Antigua". El Universo. Sep 20, 2020. Retrieved Jan 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "FinCEN Files: la filtración de miles de documentos que expone cómo los grandes bancos facilitaron el lavado de billones de dólares en todo el mundo". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  11. ^ "El rastro de Álex Saab y de un exnarco en los papeles de Pandora". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  12. ^ "Alex Saab Is Extradited to the U.S." Caracas Chronicles. 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC News Mundo 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Fiscalía presenta en audiencia a ex empleados de firma de empresario Alex Saab". El Heraldo (in Spanish). Colombia. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  19. ^ López, Carlos (17 May 2024). "Juez declara inocente a Álex Saab, señalado testaferro de Maduro, en caso por lavado de activos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  20. ^ Goodman, Joshua (13 June 2020). "Lawyer: businessman linked to Venezuelan leader is arrested". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  21. ^ "Businessman close to Maduro arrested; Venezuela slams 'arbitrary detention'". Reuters. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference :21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Scharfenberg, Ewald (2021-10-17). "El precio de investigar a Alex Saab". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  27. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ "Alex Saab se defiende en una carta y recibe apoyo del chavismo". Deutsche Welle (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference :23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ a b "Alex Saab fue informante de la DEA, muestran documentos". Associated Press (in Spanish). 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18. Sin embargo, otro de los abogados de Saab que busca que una corte de apelaciones de Atlanta falle en favor de la inmunidad diplomática, negó todo tipo de cooperación.
  32. ^ "Venezuelan President Maduro's close aide extradited to US". BBC News. October 17, 2021.
  33. ^ "US accuses Maduro of putting extradited businessman above country". France 24. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  34. ^ Moleiro, Alonso (2021-10-16). "El Gobierno de Maduro suspende las negociaciones con la oposición por la extradición de Alex Saab". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  35. ^ "Alex Saab dio a EE.UU. información sobre Venezuela y se iba a entregar". EFE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  36. ^ Dan Mangan; Rebecca Picciotto (2023-12-20). "U.S. swaps Maduro ally for 'Fat Leonard' in Venezuela prisoner exchange". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-12-20.