By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A former University of Miami professor was sentenced Tuesday to six months imprisonment after pleading guilty for helping to launder Venezuelan funds on behalf of Alex Saab.

The case attracted attention last week, when in a request for lenient sentencing attorneys for Bruce Bagley said their client was told that Saab – a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – had met with U.S. law enforcement https://www.reuters.com/world/alex-saab-gave-us-information-maduro-years-ago-ex-associate-says-2021-11-10 years ago to provide information on Maduro’s socialist government.

Bagley admitted Tuesday that her “irresponsible” behavior was a shame at the virtual hearing held in Manhattan Federal Court.

Saab was originally from Colombia and served as an intermediary to Caracas in its efforts to bypass U.S. sanction before his arrest on June 20, 2020 at Cape Verde, pursuant to a U.S. warrant. Saab was extradited to Miami in October, and this week pleaded not guilty https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-maduro-ally-saab-pleads-not-guilty-us-money-laundering-charge-2021-11-15 to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors said Bagley, who was arrested in November 2019 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-corruption/u-s-charges-miami-professor-in-venezuela-money-laundering-scheme-idUSKBN1XS2G4, received $2.5 million from overseas accounts controlled by Saab and retained a commission. Bagley (75) acknowledged receipt of the money. However, he claimed that the funds were intended to help Saab’s lawyers with his cooperation.

According to his lawyer, Saab has never been against Venezuelan interests.

Bagley’s attorneys asked that Bagley not be imprisoned due to his ill and old age. Bagley, according to the prosecutor, should be imprisoned. He argued that Bagley had not displayed “serious regret” but recommended a sentence lower than guidance at 46-57months.

Bagley was an academic who studied Latin American drug trafficking and organized criminality. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff stated that this factored in his decision to sentence Bagley to prison.

Rakoff stated at the hearing, “If anyone knew this type of activity was illegal, it was Dr. Bagley.”