OFAC targets Alex Saab network in Venezuela

The Treasury Department announced yesterday that OFAC has designated three individuals and 16 entities for their connections to Alex Nain Saab Moran (Alex Saab) and his business partner, Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas (Alvaro Pulido), who have enabled former President Nicolás Maduro (Maduro) and his illegitimate regime to corruptly profit from imports of food aid and distribution in Venezuela. The individuals designated include Alex Saab’s two brothers, Amir Luis Saab Moran (Amir Saab) and Luis Alberto Saab Moran (Luis Saab), as well as Alvaro Pulido’s son, David Enrique Rubio Gonzalez (Rubio). The 16 entities designated are owned or controlled by the aforementioned individuals or Alex Saab himself.

As a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of the individuals and entities designated yesterday, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by those individuals or entities, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property of blocked or designated persons. For identity information on the designated individuals and entities, see BankersOnline's September 17, 2019, OFAC Update.