A&O Shearman FCPA Digest | United States v. Alex N. Saab Moran and Alvaro Pulido Vargas (S.D. Fla. 2019)

Source Documents

Nature of Business
Alex Nain Saab Moran (“Saab”), a citizen of Colombia, was a businessman operating companies across several different industries.

Alvaro Pulido Vargas (“Pulido”), a/k/a German Enrique Rubio Salas, a citizen of Colombia, was also a businessman operating companies across several different industries.

Influence to be Obtained
According to the DOJ, between 2011 and 2015, Saab, Pulido, and their co-conspirators engaged in a bribery scheme to launder approximately $350 million to companies they owned or controlled through bank accounts located in Venezuela to and through bank accounts located in the US (the Southern District of Florida), and overseas.

In 2011, Saab and Pulido allegedly obtained an illegitimate contract with the Venezuelan government to build low-income housing units. According to the DOJ, the defendants exploited the Venezuelan government-controlled exchange rate by submitting fraudulent documents for goods and materials that were never imported to Venezuela. It is also alleged that they bribed Venezuelan government officials to approve their falsified document transactions.

Saab and Pulido conspired with (1) the Venezuelan government revenue service, Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administracion Aduanera y Tributaria, (SENIAT), (2) the Venezuelan commission for the administration of currency, exchange, Comision de Administracion de Divisas (the "CADIVI"), and (3) the Bolivian National Guard of Venezuela, Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela (GNB) to advance their bribery scheme. The SENIAT, CADIVI, and GNB controlled the importation of all goods into Venezuela. The CADIVI, in particular, was responsible for the payment of US dollars for the imported goods.

Enforcement
Saab and Pulido were each charged in an eight-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that upon conviction of violation to the FCPA, both defendants shall forfeit to the US any property (real or personal) involved or found traceable to the offense, including approximately $350 million involved in the alleged scheme. U.S. authorities have already seized $12,650,695 from the defendants.