The US offers a reward for information on a Colombian partner of Alex Saab
These individuals profited from subsidized food for Venezuelans.
Photo: JUAN BARRETO / AFP / Getty Images
The Department of State announced on Friday a reward of up to $ 10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the Colombian businessman Álvaro Pulido Vargas, alleged partner of the extradited Alex Saab.
This offer complements ad of the Department of Justice on a criminal accusation against Pulido and four other South American citizens – two Colombians and two Venezuelans – for money laundering and corruption in relation to a scheme of bribery to obtain and retain inflated contracts through the Local Supply and Production Committee (CLAP), a state-owned food and medicine distribution program, controlled by the Venezuelan state for the people of Venezuela.
Next to Polished, Emmanuel Enrique Rubio, Carlos Rolando Lizcano, José Gregorio Vielma-Mora and Ana Guillermo Luis, have been accused of this crime of money laundering, for having contributed to diverting money from irregular contracts signed with Venezuela for the delivery of boxes with subsidiary food.
They are all related to Alex Saab, alleged front man of the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, also accused of diner washo and participate in a bribery scheme to benefit from the distribution of subsidized food and medicine for the people of Venezuela.
The United States is demonstrating its willingness to fight corruption in Venezuela’s flagship food box program.
As indicated by the State Department spokesperson, Ned price, these “supposedly increased the cost of production of the food boxes to obtain a personal benefit from their production” and, based on this surcharge, “they were able to pay bribes and commissions to the officials of the Venezuelan government”, which “helped them to get the contract to produce the boxes, and get millions of dollars of profit for themselves ”.
According to the indictment against Álvaro Pulido Vargas, given that the Maduro regime’s dollar shortage limited its ability to pay foreign companies, including its ability to pay Pulido himself and others for the importation and distribution of food boxes in Venezuela, Pulido and another accomplice started a business to liquidate the gold of Venezuela.
The money obtained through the liquidation of the gold was then used to pay foreign companies, including companies controlled by Pulido and an accomplice.
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