Sept. 15 (UPI) — Colombian businessman and former Venezuelan minister Alex Saab, described as Nicolás Maduro’s chief financial intermediary, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful financial transactions in a Miami federal court.

Saab pleaded not guilty in the same court on July 22. Under an agreement with U.S. prosecutors, however, he admitted to money laundering and conspiring to create shell companies, divert funds from contracts with the Venezuelan government and falsify records.

Saab, 54, had been preparing for a jury trial in November but changed his plea before the U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo and NTN24 reported.

The Justice Department’s case alleges that Saab operated a multimillion-dollar fraud and bribery scheme between 2015 and 2019. Prosecutors said he used the U.S. banking system to launder money diverted from public funds intended for Venezuela’s subsidized food program, known by its Spanish acronym CLAP, which provides food to low-income Venezuelans.

As part of his plea agreement, Saab agreed to cooperate fully with ongoing federal investigations, Telemundo reported. His cooperation could have implications for Maduro, who is being held in a New York prison awaiting federal trial on charges of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking and weapons offenses.

The agreement also includes commitments to provide information about other unidentified co-defendants linked to Maduro’s political circle and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores.

Saab was extradited to the United States in mid-May by the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez. It marked the second time the businessman had been in U.S. custody.

He was first arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 at the request of the U.S. government while traveling to Iran. He was released in December 2023 by the Biden administration as part of a prisoner exchange.

After returning to Venezuela, Maduro appointed Saab minister of industries and national production.

Saab’s cooperation with U.S. prosecutors could make him a significant witness in the federal case against Maduro, his former political ally.

Univision and ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Saab had extensive knowledge of the finances of Maduro’s inner circle. His guilty plea and cooperation agreement could provide prosecutors with information relevant to the former Venezuelan leader’s federal case.

According to those reports, Saab served as a key financial operator for Maduro’s government. After international sanctions were imposed on Venezuela, he allegedly helped establish alternative channels to move billions of dollars outside the Western financial system.

Saab’s firsthand testimony could provide federal prosecutors with evidence about whether Maduro was directly connected to the movement of illicit funds allegedly linked to organized criminal activity.