In 2019, Alvaro Pulido Vargas was criminally charged with laundering the proceeds of violations of the FCPA in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government controlled-exchange rate. (See here).
In 2021, the DOJ also announced the unsealing of an indictment charging various individuals including Alvaro Pulido Vargas for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of contracts to provide food and medicine to Venezuela that were obtained through bribes. (See here for the prior post).
Yesterday, the DOJ announced that Pulido Vargas was arrested and will be making an initial appearance on October 13th in the Southern District of Florida to face federal prosecution.
In the release, Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated:
“Alvaro Pulido Vargas is no longer a fugitive from justice. Pulido is charged in two separate, significant money laundering schemes, both using the U.S. financial system to hide the profits from his bribery and greed off the backs of the Venezuelan people. The message to anyone who brings their foreign bribery or money laundering schemes inside our borders: the U.S. Justice Department will pursue these schemes and prosecute those who perpetrate them.”
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida stated:
“Alvaro Pulido Vargas was charged years ago with participating in massive money laundering and bribery schemes tied to the Maduro regime. The allegations describe a profound betrayal of the Venezuelan people; corrupting government programs intended to provide critical food, medicine, and housing for personal enrichment. [B]ecause of the persistence and coordination of our federal law enforcement and international partners, Pulido Vargas is in the Southern District of Florida to face those charges. Those accused of exploiting the American financial system should understand that distance, borders, and time will not shield them from the reach of the American legal system. We will continue working with our partners at home and abroad to bring defendants before an American court to answer for the charges against them.”
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terrance Cole stated:
“Alvaro Pulido Vargas is accused of moving vast amounts of illicit money through a corrupt network that exploited the Venezuelan people and abused the U.S. financial system. For years, DEA and our HSTF partners have pursued Pulido Vargas across borders. [T]hat pursuit has brought him to the Southern District of Florida. Those who finance criminal networks and believe money, influence, or international borders will shield them from U.S. justice are mistaken. DEA will relentlessly pursue the people and financial networks that fuel corruption, money laundering, and transnational crime threatening the United States and our partners.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon stated:
“[This] arrest demonstrates that HSI and our Homeland Security Task Force partners will relentlessly pursue the illicit financial networks that enable corruption, transnational criminal activity, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations. “Working with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, HSI will continue to follow the money, disrupt complex money-laundering schemes, and hold accountable those who allegedly use the U.S. financial system to conceal criminal proceeds.”
According to the DOJ release:
“This arrest and prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.”
