A court in Cabo Verde has approved the extradition to the United States of Colombian businessman Álex Saab, who may hold key information on alleged money laundering schemes involving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials.
By Insight Crime – Seth Robbins
Sep 7, 2021
Judges for the West African nation’s Constitutional Court issued the nearly 200-page ruling on September 7, according to court documents published by Infobae.
Saab’s attorneys have been fighting the extradition since his arrest in June 2020 when his private jet landed on the Cabo Verde island of Sal. Venezuela’s government and President Maduro also have long protested his detention and possible extradition on US charges of running a multi-million dollar money-laundering network.
The tug-of-war over Saab has played out in Cabo Verde’s courts for more than a year. His defense team, led by former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, has argued that the Colombian businessman was on a humanitarian mission to Iran as a special envoy of Maduro and this conferred Saab with diplomatic immunity, Reuters reported. The government said Saab was en route to buy food and medical supplies for the coronavirus pandemic upon his arrest.
His lawyers have also appealed to outside bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which asked in June that Saab’s extradition be halted to allow it to examine his case. But Cabo Verde’s Attorney General Luis José Tavares Landim said that the UN committee had no authority to force the suspension of court proceedings.
More recently, in mid-August, Saab’s attorneys submitted a complaint against the attorney general and Cabo Verde’s appeals court judges, alleging they violated Saab’s rights.
Several days ago, Saab was transferred to Cabo Verde’s capital of Praia to receive medical attention, according to sources who spoke to Spanish-language news agency EFE.
Saab is suffering from cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart problems, and his “health has deteriorated significantly,” said the sources, who spoke anonymously.
InSight Crime Analysis
The United States government may seek a cooperation agreement with Saab – a move the Venezuelan government likely wants to avoid at all costs.
In a January 21 filing to the US court in charge of the case, his lawyers included a letter sent to Saab by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza. The July 1 letter addresses Saab’s detention, telling him that as the Special Representative of the Bolivarian Republic he has classified information about “national security and defense.” It also warns him that he could face criminal proceedings for divulging information.
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Read More: Insight Crime – Álex Saab, Venezuela’s keeper of financial secrets, approved for extradition to US
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