PRAIA (Reuters) -Alex Saab, a businessman wanted by U.S. authorities on charges of laundering money on behalf of Venezuela's government, has been extradited to the United States, Cape Verde national radio reported on Saturday.

       Saab, an envoy of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was detained in Cape Verde in June 2020 when his plane stopped there to refuel.

       The government of Cape Verde was not immediately available to comment. The tiny Atlantic archipelago nation's constitutional court https://www.reuters.com/world/cape-verde-court-approves-extradition-maduro-envoy-us-2021-09-07 ruled in September after a protracted court battle that Saab should be extradited.

       U.S. justice authorities have charged Saab in connection with a bribery scheme to take advantage of Venezuela's state-controlled exchange rate. It also sanctioned him for allegedly orchestrating a corruption network that allowed him and Maduro to profit from a state-run food subsidy program.

       Saab's lawyers have called the U.S. charges "politically motivated."

       (Reporting by Julio Rodrigues, Writing by Bate Felix, Editing by Timothy Heritage)