New Delhi, May 19 -- A close ally of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was charged Monday with bribing top officials to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from lucrative contracts to import food at a time of widespread hardship in the South American country.

Alex Saab made his initial court appearance after being deported over the weekend by acting President Delcy Rodriguez as part of a purge of insider businessmen who are believed to have enriched themselves through corrupt dealings with Maduro.

Shackled and wearing a beige prison uniform, Saab answered "Yes, ma'am," in English after being asked by a federal judge in Miami whether he understood the charges against him: a single count of money laundering tied to a decade-old...