U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., center right, and his wife Nadine Menendez, center back, leave Manhattan Federal Court after his arraignment on March 11, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Sen. Bob Menendez questioned a Treasury Department official Tuesday about curbing illicit finance as he prepares to stand trial on federal bribery charges in a month along with his wife and two other men.
“I am concerned about the exploitation of our litigation finance industry by foreign actors,” the New Jersey Democrat told Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Menendez cited a Bloomberg Law report that showed Russian billionaires with ties to President Vladimir Putin funded bankruptcy lawsuits in New York despite being hit with sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine.
Menendez also criticized the Biden administration for failing to stop Iran from selling its oil to companies in countries like China under current sanctions.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that you can convert these dollars into cryptocurrency and other forms to ultimately have access to them,” Menendez said.
Adeyemo said it would be nearly impossible for Iran to get money from oil sales through the traditional financial system.
However, he said Congress must act to prevent bad actors from evading sanctions through the use of cryptocurrencies.
“We fear that without congressional action to provide us with the necessary tools, the use of virtual assets by these actors will only increase,” Adeyemo said in his opening statement.
Republican senators on the committee attacked the Biden administration over its 2023 agreement to release $6 billion of Tehran’s funds to be used for humanitarian aid in exchange for the release of political prisoners in Iran.
“Iran is not our friend. Venezuela is not our friend, President Biden continues to give them money to buy weapons to try to kill us,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
Adeyemo said the funds blocked after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel were not transferred to Iran.
“None of this money has gone to Iran, and this money will not go directly to Iran,” Adeyemo said.
Menendez is scheduled to begin trial May 6 on nearly 20 felony charges involving his alleged acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bullion and other luxury goods in exchange for helping three businessmen in their businesses. He has pleaded not guilty.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, and two of the businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, will be tried with him.
The fifth defendant in the case, Jose Uribe, previously pleaded guilty and agreed to assist prosecutors.
The senator is accused, among other things, of providing classified U.S. government information that secretly helped the Egyptian government and pressuring a U.S. Department of Agriculture official to protect a business monopoly in Egypt.
Menendez served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until he was impeached in September.
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2024-04-09 19:43:43
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