Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab, considered the front man of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, urged a US appeals court to address the issue of diplomatic immunity in the money laundering conspiracy case that faces in a Miami court (Florida).
In a document presented this week before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta (Georgia), Saab’s defense requests that the accusation be dismissed, arguing that its client has diplomatic immunity, and also indicates that it is that court that you will have to decide on the matter.
This “court will ultimately decide immunity in all events, and the requirements of this case practically oblige this Court to address the issue of immunity at this time “, details the document, to which Efe had access.
The motion responds to a request from the Prosecutor’s Office that asks dismiss the appeal filed in April by Saab in Atlanta to a ruling by a Miami judge calling him a “fugitive from United States justice.”
According to the defense, “Saab argued that the Court should address the issue of immunity, claim that immunity and the indisputable inviolability of Saab facing the arrest and directly dismissing the accusation. “
He adds that “treat Saab like a fugitive would be tantamount to denying his immunity. “
For its lawyers, the appeals court must dismiss the motion of the Prosecutor’s Office and “accelerate the argumentation and the decision to resolve Saab’s claim of immunity as soon as possible. “
Next January 7 Saab has a hearing in Miami, in which the date of the trial will be scheduled, which was delayed after both parties considered that January 3, as planned, was not “realistic.”
The businessman faces a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a Miami court, of which pleaded “not guilty” on November 15 before Judge Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes.
Saab faces a sentence of about 20 years if he is found guilty of the only charge he has in the Miami court, a penalty that can be reduced if he makes a deal with the Prosecutor’s Office, which usually includes denunciation of other people.
