- Sen. Bob Menendez asked Treasury officials about curbing illegal financing a month before his trial on bribery charges.
- “I am concerned about the exploitation of our litigation finance industry by foreign parties,” Mendez told Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
- Menendez is scheduled to go on trial in May on charges that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and other luxuries in exchange for helping three businessmen with their projects.
Sen. Bob Menendez asked Treasury officials Tuesday about reining in illegal financing as he prepares to go on trial with his wife and two other men in a month on federal bribery charges.
“We are concerned about the exploitation of our litigation finance industry by foreign parties,” Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, told Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Menendez cited a Bloomberg Law report showing that a Russian billionaire with ties to President Vladimir Putin funded a New York bankruptcy case despite being under sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine. was quoted.
Menendez also criticized the Biden administration for not stopping Iran from selling crude oil to companies in countries including China under current sanctions.
“You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that you can convert those dollars into cryptocurrencies and other forms to ultimately access those dollars,” Menendez said.
Adeyemo said it is nearly impossible for Iran to access funds from the oil it sells using the traditional financial system.
But he said Congress needs to act to prevent bad actors from using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.
“Without action from Congress to provide the necessary tools, I am concerned that the use of virtual assets by these actors will only increase,” Adeyemo said in his opening remarks. .
Republican senators on the committee attacked the Biden administration over a 2023 deal that would unfreeze $6 billion in Tehran funds for humanitarian aid in exchange for the release of Iranian political prisoners.
“Iran is not our friend. Venezuela is not our friend. President Biden continues to give them money to buy weapons to kill us,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana). he said.
Mr. Adeyemo said that the funds that were blocked after Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel were not sent to Iran.
“None of that money went to Iran, and none of that money goes directly to Iran,” Adeyemo said.
Menendez was charged May 6 with about 20 criminal charges related to allegations that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and other luxury items in exchange for helping three businessmen with their transactions. The trial is scheduled to begin in 2020.. He pleaded not guilty.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, and two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Dives, will also stand trial together.
The fifth defendant in the case, Jose Uribe, previously pleaded guilty and agreed to assist prosecutors.
Senator Menendez is accused of providing classified U.S. government information that secretly aided the Egyptian government and of pressuring U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to protect corporate monopolies in Egypt.
Menendez was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until his indictment in September.
