U.S. Arrests Alvaro Pulido Vargas, 62, Over $1.6 Billion Venezuelan Corruption Scheme
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 12
U.S. Arrests Alvaro Pulido Vargas, 62, Over $1.6 Billion Venezuelan Corruption Scheme
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 12
Summary
Alvaro Pulido Vargas, a 62-year-old Colombian fugitive, was arrested in a Homeland Security Task Force operation and is due in South Florida federal court on Oct. 13.
Two U.S. cases accuse him of laundering proceeds from Venezuelan bribery schemes through American banks, including a newer case tied to about $1.6 billion in CLAP food and medicine contracts.
Prosecutors say Pulido and associates paid bribes to win those contracts, inflated prices to cover kickbacks, and moved about $180 million through or into the United States via accounts in South Florida and elsewhere.
A separate 2019 case alleges Pulido and Maduro ally Alex Saab used a low-income housing program to extract roughly $350 million through false import paperwork and Venezuela's controlled exchange system.
The arrest deepens a broader U.S. crackdown on figures linked to Nicolas Maduro's government, as Maduro himself faces a Manhattan hearing on narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking charges.