The Colombian businessman Álex Saab, accused of being Nicolás Maduro’s front man, requested the house arrest in Cape Verde, where he is being detained at the request of the United States, due to his health problems, a source close to the defense confirmed to the Efe agency on Tuesday, July 28.
Saab was detained on June 12 when his plane stopped to refuel at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport on the northern island of Sal (the most important of this island country in West Africa), in response to a request from the US issued through Interpol for alleged money laundering offenses.
Saab, under preventive detention on the island of Sal, is expected to be transferred this week to the northern saint vincent island to testify before the Barlavento Court of Appeals, the source indicated, without specifying the dates of the transfer and the hearing.
The appearance is related to the challenge filed by the employer’s lawyers against the authorization that the Cape Verdean Government has already given to his extradition, although the final decision corresponds to that court.
Heart accidents
The businessman’s Cape Verdean lawyers have been in Sal since last weekend, where this Monday they had their first face-to-face contact with Saab since the beginning of the process, in order to prepare their client for said hearing, which would include witnesses.
“We were also able to verify his state of mind and he presents himself as a calm man who, although he has his ups and downs, like any person in such a situation, trusts our defense strategy and the impartiality of the Cape Verdean courts “Said the same source.
The lawyers are also attentive to state of physical health of the alleged front man and the source confirmed, although without indicating whether it was administratively or through any procedural act, that Saab “has already expressed its desire to comply with preventive detention at home due to its clinical situation, which is not worrisome but requires certain care ”and medical supervision.
“He has already had stomach surgery, in a process of reducing the digestive system; he is hypertensive and often has heart attacks. On the other hand, as it is part of the risk group in relation to COVID-19, the idea is to protect it as much as possible with the appropriate sanitary measures so that it remains safe from the coronavirus ”, he specified.
Procedural steps
Regarding the case, the source indicated that the current procedural procedure (the first hearing on the opposition to the extradition request) in the Court of Appeals should last, in principle, fifteen days that would expire this week.
“We are called to present our evidence and answer those that are presented against us. And for that, we are going to list several witnesses, both Cape Verdeans and foreigners. Some will be heard in person, but when it is not possible, we will listen to them by videoconference, “said the source.
The process of extradition – the source recalled – it must last 90 days from the date of Saab’s arrest. “As always,” he added, “the Cape Verde courts will decide on time and without abusively extending the deadlines, with respect for the rights of the defense.”
An “agent” of the Venezuelan government
After the businessman’s arrest, Venezuela pointed out that Saab is a Venezuelan citizen and an “agent” of the Government, who was “in transit” in Cape Verde to return to the country.
The defense argues that “he had the right to personal inviolability as a special envoy of Venezuela in transit through Cape Verde ”.
Saab’s name appeared in the press when former Venezuelan prosecutor Luisa Ortega accused him in 2017 of being one of Maduro’s front men.
Saab, born in the Colombian city of Barranquilla and of Lebanese origin, is related to several companies, including Group Grand Limited (GGL), accused of supplying the Maduro regime with food and supplies for the government Local Committees of Supply and Production (Clap).
A US government official indicated in July 2019 that with the Claps, who give themselves to the poorest, the Colombian businessman and three of Maduro’s stepsons apparently profited from “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Washington also brought charges against Saab and its right-hand man, Álvaro Enrique Pulido, whom it accuses of laundering up to $ 350 million allegedly defrauded through the exchange control system in Venezuela.
According to the US, between November 2011 and September 2015, Saab and Pulido conspired with others to launder their illicit earnings and transfer them from Venezuela to US bank accounts, which is why Washington has jurisdiction in the case.
With information from EFE
Photo: Archive
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