Key facts
- Álvaro Pulido, 62, was arrested in the US on Sunday.
- Pulido is accused of laundering over $2 billion in connection with Venezuelan government bribery schemes.
- US prosecutors allege Pulido bribed Venezuelan officials for contracts to supply food and medicine.
- Pulido is accused of overcharging the Venezuelan government and laundering profits through foreign bank accounts.
- Pulido allegedly worked with Alex Saab to launder $350 million from a currency exchange bribery scheme.
- Alex Saab pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a US court last month.
A Colombian national, Álvaro Pulido, 62, has been detained in the United States on accusations of laundering more than $2 billion in connection with Venezuelan government bribery schemes, the US Department of Justice announced. Pulido was arrested on Sunday during an operation by the Homeland Security Task Force.
US prosecutors allege that Pulido, along with four co-defendants, bribed Venezuelan government officials to secure contracts for providing food and medicine to impoverished citizens. They accuse Pulido of significantly overcharging the Venezuelan government and subsequently laundering the profits through bank accounts in the US and abroad. The indictment also claims Pulido collaborated with Alex Saab to launder $350 million from a separate bribery scheme involving Venezuela's currency exchange system.
Pulido had been held in Venezuela since March 2023, facing accusations of diverting profits from the state-run oil company PDVSA. The US Drug Enforcement Administration and State Department had offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Pulido's apprehension follows the recent guilty plea of Alex Saab, another Colombian businessman with close ties to the Venezuelan government, to money laundering charges in a US court. Saab, who was once a powerful figure and was named minister of industry by Nicolás Maduro, was extradited to the US in May.