U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) (center right) and his wife Nadine Menendez (center, back) leave federal court in Manhattan, New York, after their trial on March 11, 2024. .
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
Sen. Bob Menendez on Tuesday grilled a Treasury Department official on curbing illicit finance as the official prepares to stand trial on federal bribery charges in a month along with his wife and two other men.
“I am concerned about foreign actors exploiting our litigation finance industry,” the New Jersey Democrat told Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Menendez cited Bloomberg Law Report It shows that Russian billionaires with ties to President Vladimir Putin are still funding bankruptcy proceedings in New York despite sanctions following the Ukraine invasion.
Menendez also criticized the Biden administration for failing to prevent Iran from selling oil to countries including China under current sanctions.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you can convert these dollars into cryptocurrencies and other forms in order to ultimately have access to them,” Menendez said.
Adeyemo said it was almost impossible for Iran to obtain funds from oil sales through the traditional financial system.
However, he said Congress needs to take action so bad actors cannot use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions.
“We are concerned that the use of virtual assets by these actors will only increase if Congress does not act to provide us with the necessary tools,” Adeyemo said in his opening remarks.
Republican senators on the committee attacked a 2023 deal struck by the Biden administration that freed Tehran of $6 billion in funds for humanitarian aid in exchange for Iran releasing political prisoners.
“Iran is not our friend. Venezuela is not our friend and President Biden keeps giving them money to buy weapons to try to kill us,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana.
Adeyemo said the funds were prohibited Hamas has not yet been dispatched to Iran following its terrorist attacks on Israel.
“None of this money is going to Iran, and it’s not going directly to Iran,” Adeyemo said.
Menendez will go on trial starting May 6 on nearly 20 criminal counts for allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and other luxury goods in exchange for helping three businessmen with their transactions.. He pleads not guilty.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, and two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, will stand trial with him.
A fifth defendant in the case, Jose Uribe, had previously pleaded guilty and agreed to assist prosecutors.
The senator is accused of providing sensitive U.S. government information that secretly assisted the Egyptian government and pressured U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to protect Egypt’s business monopolies.
Menendez served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until he was indicted in September.
About The Author
