US detains man accused in multi-billion Venezuelan money laundering scheme

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.