Some sectors of the Venezuelan regime still wonder why the Colombian Álex Saab ended up, in less than three months, agreeing to plead guilty in United States courts to million-dollar laundering operations with the famous Clap boxes and operations with oil from the neighboring country.
Some attribute the metamorphosis she suffered – from a challenger to the regime to a collaborating prisoner – to the fact that her protector, the dictator Nicolás Maduro, is in an adjacent cell. But sources close to the case told the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO that there are a couple of factors that may worry him and that will even compromise the judicial future of his closest circle.
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The Shadi Factor
Alex Saab, designated by the US as an alleged figurehead of the deposed president Nicolás Maduro. Photo:EFE
Sources aware of the case told the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO that federal agencies have documented for years that in the circuit of laundering of millionaire resources from Venezuela, through the so-called Clap Boxes, Saab’s eldest son appears: Shadi Nain.
Since 2017, EL TIEMPO and other media located the young man as an account holder of juicy balances in banks in Switzerland that are already on the radar of the FBI.
In addition, he also appears on the board of the company Safire and as director of Group Grand Limited, cornerstone of the network of Clap boxes, Venezuela’s food program.
The company was part of the mechanism with which Saab moved millions of dollars from the regime through Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, France, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Iran and even Russia.
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The gold report
Colombian gold bars. Photo:private file
The Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO established that There is another chapter that could concern Saab and it is an investigation that federal agents and Colombian investigators are carrying out on a millionaire Venezuelan gold launderer.but also Colombian.
Indeed, The United States embassy in Colombia and the Presidency itself, during the time of Gustavo Petro, received a report with sensitive data about million-dollar drops in income in Colombian gold and that at the same time, illegal outflows of the metal grew. in a worrying way.
In fact, Former President Petro himself referred to the issue in a speech in December 2025, in which he assured that nearly 71 tons of gold leave Colombia, a figure equivalent to about 3.5 billion dollars. It is not taxed in the country and is laundered through the purchase of real estate abroad.
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Peter Photo:Peter
In the document, It is claimed that after the United States sanctions against Venezuela, before the removal of the dictator Maduro, the regime issued a series of decrees to lower the percentage of royalties that that country charges for the entry of gold.
“At that time, the Minister of Industry of Venezuela was Saab and it is not ruled out that he held meetings with a couple of Colombian officials. to address the issue of gold purchases by Venezuela,” an investigator told EL TIEMPO.
And he added: “In Colombia, intelligence agencies are tracking million-dollar profits and payments through cryptocurrencies. Initially it was believed that it was for cocaine trafficking, but efforts are being made to establish whether payments were also made that way. for illegal gold.”
In addition, he said that it is verified whether several buildings near the Maiquetía airport They served as a collection center for gold bars that left on charter flights to other countries, as well as several offices in Colombia that pretended to be wholesale exporters. and that in reality, they would be sending illegal gold abroad.
For now, in Tuesday’s session, Saab accepted charges for money laundering that could cost him 20 years in prison, but due to his collaboration he could go down considerably.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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