CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan authorities said Wednesday they would seek the arrest of ousted chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega's husband for allegedly running a $6 million extortion ring with corrupt prosecutors under her supervision.

Tarek William Saab, who replaced Ortega after she was removed by the pro-government constitutional assembly, said the criminal ring squeezed a range of defendants as well as businessmen in the nation's oil industry to protect them from prosecution. He held up bank records that he said were evidence that Ortega's husband, formerly pro-government lawmaker German Ferrer, opened a $1 million account in the Bahamas last year with a prosecutor in charge of the nation's biggest corruption case.

"What we're exposing today is the tip of the iceberg of a cartel," said Saab, adding that Ortega, while not herself formally accused, surely knew of the crimes taking place. "This institution was converted into an authentic center of blackmail."

Saab's call for Ferrer's arrest came minutes after socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello appeared at his office to denounce the alleged ring, leading many to conclude the accusation is an attempt to silence Ortega.

A longtime government loyalist, Ortega broke with President Nicolas Maduro in April and has led opposition to his plans to rewrite the constitution, accusing the embattled socialist of betraying the legacy of the late Hugo Chavez and being immersed in corruption.

Also being sought for arrest is the prosecutor in charge of investigating top officials for taking some $100 million in bribes that Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht has admitted to paying in exchange for contracts in Venezuela. Before being removed, Ortega had sought charges against the wife and mother-in-law of Maduro's former transport minister, Haiman El Troudi, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Saab and Cabello said the ring laundered money from the extortions through a network of offshore companies and foundations in Panama and Colombia. He asked the constitutional assembly, whose creation this month has been condemned by dozens of foreign governments as an illegitimate power grab, to strip Ferrer of his congressional immunity from prosecution.

There was no immediate response from Ortega or Ferrer.