A United States judge accepted this Wednesday that Alex Saab does not appear at this Friday’s hearing for a money laundering casein which his defense plans to present a not guilty plea.
Judge Lauren F. Louis approved the request of the Colombian businessman, identified by the US authorities as an alleged front man for Nicolás Maduro, to not appear at the formal charging hearing.
In that legal brief, Saab’s defense also requested that a declaration of “not guilty” be recorded regarding accusations of money laundering, among other crimes.
In the document, presented on July 14 before the Court of the Southern District of Florida, the defense asked that Saab be able to resign from appearing at the hearing and stated that the businessman was already notified of the accusation, the possible penalties in case of conviction and his constitutional rights.
Saab, born in Colombia and 54 years old, appeared for the first time before a federal court in Miami on May 18two days after being deported from Venezuela to the United States.
At that hearing he was accused of money laundering and conspiracy to carry out financial transactions, as well as concealing and disguising the origin of funds. The court also ordered that he be held without bail.
Considered a close ally of Maduro, Saab had previously faced money laundering charges in the United States. After being arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 and extradited to US territory, he was released in 2023 during the Joe Biden Government (2021-2025) as part of a prisoner exchange with Venezuela.
Later, he returned to Caracas, where he was appointed Minister of Industries and National Production.
His deportation to the United States occurred after the US operation on January 3 that led to the capture in Caracas of Maduro, who remains in New York facing charges related to drug trafficking.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared this Wednesday in a federal court in New York where the judge in charge proposed that the trial begin in June 2027.
