Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman close to the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro who was extradited to Miami for charges of money laundering, met with U.S. security officials in 2017 to provide information about the Maduro government, according to records from the court case of USA of an exassociated assumption.
Bruce Bagley, a former professor of the University of Miami who studied drug trafficking as an academic in Latin America, was arrested in November 2019 on charges of receiving $ 2.5 million in deposits from overseas accounts that were controlled by Saab, and that he withheld a commission. He pleaded guilty last year.
In a document filed in federal court in Manhattan late Tuesday in an effort to seek a lesser sentence, Bagley’s attorneys said an intermediary, whose name was included in the case, told Bagley that the money he received it was to pay the lawyers who were helping Saab with their cooperation.
“The purpose of the additional money was to pay Saab’s lawyers in USA that they were advising Saab and accompanying him to meetings with the United States government, during which Saab provided information on the Maduro government, “his lawyers wrote.
Those meetings began in 2017, according to the document.
David Rivkin, a lawyer for Saab, said in a statement that Bagley had never worked for his client.
“Any claim that he has cooperated with the US authorities against the interests of Venezuela is totally false,” Rivkin said. “At all times, Alex Saab has been a loyal citizen of Venezuela and has carried out all his activities with the full knowledge and blessing of the government of Venezuela“he added.
The Ministry of Communication of Venezuela did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another Saab attorney, Henry Bell, had previously said that Saab will plead not guilty to the US charges.
Saab, 49, was arrested in Cape Verde last year on a US court order and was extradited to Miami in October. His case, which pits Washington against the Maduro government, has drawn attention because Saab was in recent years a key Caracas intermediary to circumvent US sanctions by importing goods into the South American nation.
Bagley’s claim that Saab previously met with security agents could raise hopes among the Venezuelan opposition that he will once again cooperate with US prosecutors, who have accused Maduro and other Venezuelan officials of drug trafficking.
Bagley’s attorneys wrote that the anonymous broker “told Dr. Bagley that federal law enforcement authorities wanted Alex Saab to provide intelligence regarding the Venezuelan government, and the meetings had already begun.”
The statement came in a request filed Tuesday night by Bagley’s attorneys for a lesser sentence, citing Bagley’s advanced age and poor health. That document was removed Wednesday due to instructions from the United States District Judge, Jed Rakoff, and then a new version was released with references to Saab’s meetings with US officials.
A representative for Rakoff declined to comment on why the document was removed.
Saab may have met with US authorities to avoid criminal charges or explore the possibility of cooperation in exchange for leniency, said Barbara Llanes, a former federal prosecutor and partner at the Gelber Shachter & Greenberg law firm in Miami.
Erick Cruz, a Miami defense attorney, said Saab’s remarks in any previous meeting with law enforcement would likely not be admissible in his own potential trial.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx