Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro on Friday appointed controversial businessman Alex Saab as the country’s minister of industry and production, despite the charges that had been brought against him in the United States for allegedly running a massive corruption and money-laundering scheme.

Businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who was freed in a prisoner exchange with the United States last year, has been named as industry minister, Maduro said on Friday in a social media post.

- Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Alex Saab embrace during an event marking the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 23,