In brief
A 62‑year‑old Colombian businessman, Álvaro Pulido, was arrested in the United States on charges of laundering over $2 billion linked to a Venezuelan welfare and bribery network. Pulido, already jailed in Venezuela since March 2023 for diverting oil company profits, is accused of collaborating with former Venezuelan minister Alex Saab to funnel illicit funds through U.S. bank accounts. The DEA and State Department had offered a $10 million reward for information. Pulido will face court in early October, marking a surge in U.S. actions against Venezuelan officials’ financial crimes.
US authorities detain Colombian businessman Pulido over alleged $2 billion laundering scheme tied to Venezuela.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that 62‑year‑old Álvaro Pulido was arrested on Sunday during a Homeland Security Task Force operation, but the exact motive behind his U.S. custody remains undisclosed.
Pulido has been incarcerated in Venezuela since March 2023 following accusations of siphoning profits from the state‑run oil company PDVSA and overcharging for food and medicine supplied to impoverished citizens.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and State Department had previously posted a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Prosecutors say Pulido and four co‑defendants conspired in bribing Venezuelan officials to secure contracts, overcharging the government and laundering the proceeds through foreign accounts, including in Florida.
Pulido is alleged to have worked with Alex Saab—who pleaded guilty to money‑laundering charges last month—to move $350 million from a separate bribery scheme involving Venezuela’s currency exchange system.
Saab, once a key figure in Nicolás Maduro’s administration, was quickly displaced after the U.S. seized Maduro in January and later extradited Saab to the United States.
Pulido is scheduled to appear in U.S. court on Tuesday, 12 October, as authorities intensify efforts to prosecute Venezuelan‑linked financial crimes worldwide.
