// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
US detains man accused in multi-billion Venezuelan money laundering scheme
Álvaro Pulido was wanted by US authorities over indictments accusing him of money laundering
A Colombian man wanted for allegedly laundering money that had been illegally syphoned off a Venezuelan government welfare plan has been detained in the United States.
The US Department of Justice said Álvaro Pulido, 62, had been arrested during a Homeland Security Task Force operation on Sunday, but did not provide further details as to how he ended up in US custody.
Pulido had been in jail in Venezuela since March 2023 accused of diverting profits from the state-run oil company PDVSA.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and State Department had been offering a reward of $10m (£7.5m) for information leading to his arrest.
He is due to appear in court on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the US Attorney's Office.
Pulido's arrest comes just two months after Alex Saab, another Colombian businessman with close ties to the Venezuelan government, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a US court.
The US State Attorney's Office said that Pulido had been charged in two separate federal indictments "involving the alleged laundering of more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in connection with Venezuelan government bribery schemes".
US prosecutors say Pulido, along with four other co-defendants, bribed Venezuelan government officials to secure contracts to provide poor Venezuelans with food and medicine.
They accuse Pulido of wildly overcharging the Venezuelan government and laundering the profits through bank accounts abroad, including in the US.