Cape Verde cleared to expel Colombian fugitive

A Cape Verde court has ruled that a Colombian businessman, who was a special envoy of the Venezuelan Government, can be extradited to the US. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Colombian national Alex Saab was indicted by the US Justice Department for money laundering last July. He was detained on an Interpol ‘red notice’ stemming from the indictment. He was travelling to Iran on a Venezuelan plane and had stopped in Cape Verde to refuel. Saab is accused by the US Government of serving as President Nicolas Maduro's front man in a large network of money laundering and corruption. BBC News reports that the suspect is alleged to have designed schemes to provide Maduro's Government with much-needed illicit cash flows in the face of US sanctions. He is also charged with siphoning money from a government food aid scheme.