Colombian National Arrested to Face Charges in Alleged $2 Billion Venezuelan Money Laundering Schemes

Alvaro Pulido Vargas, a 62-year-old Colombian national charged in two federal indictments alleging the laundering of more than $2 billion tied to Venezuelan government bribery schemes, has been arrested and will make his initial appearance on Tuesday, October 13, in the Southern District of Florida, the Justice Department said.

According to the department, a 2021 indictment charges Pulido Vargas and four co-defendants with laundering proceeds from an alleged bribery scheme involving about $1.6 billion in contracts through CLAP, a Venezuelan government program meant to provide food and medicine. Prosecutors allege the defendants inflated contract costs to fund bribes and moved about $180 million through or to the United States. He faces one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering, each carrying up to 20 years in prison.

A separate 2019 indictment alleges that Pulido Vargas and Alex Nain Saab Moran laundered about $350 million through a scheme that used false import documents and bribes to exploit Venezuela's government-controlled currency exchange system in connection with a low-income housing contract. In that case, he is charged with conspiracy and seven counts of money laundering.

The department noted that an indictment is merely an allegation and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The DEA, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the cases.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/51