Alleged financier for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro says he fears being extradited to the US

He has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department and is sought by the Department of Justice’s Southern District of Florida, over money laundering charges.

Writing from an apartment in the touristy Cape Verdean island of Sal, where he’s been under house arrest since January this year, Saab describes his detention as an “abduction” and as an “exceptionally serious diplomatic conflict.” Unsurprisingly, he also denies the accusations coming from the United States.

“We all know that to sanction is a political action,” Saab writes, accusing the United States of trying to meddle in Venezuela’s internal affairs. “The fact that they opted to sanction me confirms that they are telling the world they don’t have any proof to support any accusation.”

“It’s why they can’t label me as a criminal, but still seek to destroy my reputation,” he concludes.

The US Department of State did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

The US Goes to Court

Maduro and his closest allies in Venezuela have been able to laugh off the charges, but many outside Venezuela haven’t had that luxury. By the end of 2020, the US Department of Justice had announced that 33 individuals targeted by its ongoing probe into corruption in Venezuela had pleaded guilty. Court documents show some are cooperating with the US authorities.

Saab himself has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of money laundering. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) indictment lists several bank transfers made by Saab and his associates, out of Venezuela and into bank accounts controlled by them. The DoJ says these were part of a bribery and money laundering scheme involving government contracts to build low-income houses that allegedly saw about 350 million dollars stolen from Venezuela.

Saab denies that as well.

“The accusations of money laundering are unfounded, purely political, and artificially built by the authorities to serve political interests,” he says. “They are based on testimony provided by discredited witnesses that have been rewarded with US citizenship for their cooperation.”

“The truth is that US law enforcement have been doing all they can to try and find a connection between myself and the United States, a country I haven’t visited in 30 years,” he adds.

Saab also claims that authorities in other countries have targeted him in the past and they too were unable to find proof to convict him.

“Swiss authorities, known for their meticulousness and thoroughness spent three years investigating all the cash flows to and from specific accounts associated with myself,” he explains. “The investigation was concluded after they were unable to find evidence to sustain accusations of money laundering and corruption, the same allegations in which the US accusation is based on.”

Saab believes, in targeting him, Washington’s ultimate goal is Maduro.

“I’ve been asked, ‘Alex, why don’t you lie and ‘rat out’ President Maduro? Why don’t you give the Americans what they want? You’d be at home in a few days.’,” he says. “Allow me to be very clear, I have nothing bad to say about President Maduro, I only feel gratitude towards him.”

Saab argues he’d be of no interest to the Americans, denying he is Maduro’s ‘financier’ despite confirming that he works closely with Venezuela’s government, when asked if he was the embattled leader’s right-hand man.

“If by that you mean that I am loyal, committed and dedicated to defending the interests of the Venezuelan people and that, in that sense, I act in conjunction with President Maduro, then yes, as well as with Ministers from his cabinet,” he explains. “But I am no one’s ‘financier’ nor does President Maduro, an honest man of humble origins, need a financier.”

Venezuela Weighs In

Venezuela has been calling for the businessman’s release sincse his arrest. While Maduro himself hasn’t addressed the issue publicly – as he normally does when Venezuela makes international headlines – the country’s government has said his trip to Iran was part of a special humanitarian mission, as “Venezuela’s special envoy.” It also says it issued Saab with a diplomatic passport which gives him diplomatic immunity, calling for his immediate release.