Alvaro Pulido, accused of laundering more than $2 billion, detained in the US — BBC News

US authorities have detained 62-year-old Colombian businessman Alvaro Pulido, whom they had been seeking on charges of allegedly laundering funds diverted from a Venezuelan state social programme. As BBC News reports, the US Department of Justice said Pulido was detained on Sunday during an operation by a Department of Homeland Security task force.

The US agency did not say how Pulido came into custody in the United States. According to the US Attorney's Office, he is due to appear in court on Tuesday. Previously, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Department had offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Charges in two cases

The US Attorney's Office said Pulido is named in two federal indictments related to the alleged laundering of more than $2 billion in Venezuelan bribery schemes. According to US prosecutors, he and four other defendants paid bribes to Venezuelan officials to obtain contracts to supply food and medicine for low-income people.

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Prosecutors also allege that the participants in the scheme significantly inflated prices for the Venezuelan authorities and laundered the proceeds through bank accounts abroad, including in the United States.

Connection to the Alex Saab case

US prosecutors further allege that Pulido, together with Colombian businessman Alex Saab, laundered $350 million in another alleged bribery scheme connected to Venezuela's currency exchange system. According to the investigation, bank accounts in Florida were used for this purpose.

Pulido had been in custody in Venezuela since March 2023 on charges of diverting proceeds from the state oil company PDVSA. Saab, who previously had close ties to the Venezuelan authorities and served as minister of industry, pleaded guilty to money laundering in a US court last month.