Alex Saab, the businessman widely seen as the financial fixer for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was charged with money laundering in federal court in Miami on Monday in a prosecution stemming from the so-called “food fraud” scandal uncovered by FRONTLINE and the Venezuelan investigative outlet Armando.info.

The charge stems from alleged corruption first exposed by Armando.info investigative journalist Roberto Deniz and his colleagues a decade ago, after suspicious-looking powdered milk being distributed by Maduro’s government drew their attention—a thread that unraveled into a vast international corruption scandal allegedly orchestrated by Saab, FRONTLINE said. 

The reporting was detailed in the 2024 documentary “A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela,” which traced how Saab became the biggest contractor for the CLAP program, Maduro’s signature initiative to deliver essential food items to Venezuelans suffering through the country’s economic crisis. The news agencies concluded that the scheme involved purchasing low-quality products and funneling the remaining funds to Saab and his accomplices. 

While Maduro was in power, Saab was regarded as one of the Venezuelan leader’s most influential moneymen, overseeing international business arrangements that allegedly helped move billions of dollars through a web of shell companies and offshore accounts, The Miami Herald said. 

As Maduro’s so-called “bag man,” Saab could now be a key figure in the U.S. case against the now-deposed Venezuelan president and could potentially be asked to testify against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, according to FRONTLINE.

“He now has to face trial, or negotiate a plea agreement,” Deniz told FRONTLINE. “And any such agreement would almost certainly require providing information about Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in order to seek a more favorable outcome with the U.S. justice system.”

This is not Saab’s first time in U.S. custody. During the first Trump administration, federal authorities charged Saab with money laundering and he was extradited to the United States in 2021, the outlet said. 

Court proceedings later revealed that Saab had previously provided information to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He was held in custody until 2023, when the Biden administration released him to Venezuela in a controversial prisoner swap, part of what was seen as an effort to improve relations with Caracas and engage Maduro on holding free and fair elections. Those elections did not come to pass.

Saab’s latest legal troubles could be cause for anxiety among other former Maduro insiders, the Herald said.

The newspaper cited Raúl Gorrín, owner of Globovisión, who was charged in 2024 with conspiring to launder $1.2 billion purportedly funneled from Venezuela through corrupt oil and currency exchange schemes. Saab’s case could also draw additional attention to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, whom U.S. authorities have linked to the Cartel de los Soles drug trafficking organization, according to the report.