The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act concerns bribery of foreign officials.
This post concerns bribery of U.S. officials.
Last week the DOJ announced that U.S. Congressman Enrique Roberto “Henry” Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were criminally charged with participating in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering.
This indictment alleges in summary fashion:
“Beginning in at least December 2014 and continuing through at least November 2021, Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Rios Cuellar, agreed to and did accept at least $598,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: Foreign Oil Company-1, an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and Foreign Bank-1, a bank headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. The bribe payments were laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. Imelda Cuellar performed little or no legitimate work under the sham contracts. Instead, in exchange for the bribe payments to Imelda Cuellar, Henry Cuellar agreed to perform official acts in his capacity as a Member of Congress, to commit acts in violation of his official duties, and to act as an agent of the Government of Azerbaijan and Foreign Bank-1.
Pursuant to these corrupt agreements, Henry Cuellar promised to use the power and prestige of his office to advance Azerbaijan’s and Foreign Bank-1’s interests in the United States. With respect to Azerbaijan, in exchange for the bribe payments, Henry Cuellar promised to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. Henry Cuellar agreed, among other things, to influence a series of legislative measures relating to Azerbaijan’s conflict with neighboring Armenia; to insert language favored by Azerbaijan into legislation and committee reports governing certain security and economic aid programs; to deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the House of Representatives; and to consult with representatives of Azerbaijan regarding their efforts to lobby the United States government.
With respect to Foreign Bank-1, in exchange for the bribe payments, Henry Cuellar promised to influence federal regulation of the financial industry to benefit Foreign Bank-1 and its affiliates. Specifically, Henry Cuellar agreed, among other things, to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure Executive Branch officials regarding anti-money laundering enforcement practices that threatened Foreign Bank-1’s business interests; to support legislation to block federal regulation of the payday lending industry; and to support revisions to the criminal money-laundering statutes favored by the Mexican corporate conglomerate of which Foreign Bank-1 was a member.”
According to the indictment:
“Foreign Oil Company-1 was the national oil and gas company of Azerbaijan and was wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan. Foreign Oil Company-1’s President and Vice Presidents were appointed by the President of Azerbaijan and were removable by him. Foreign Oil Company-1 was headquartered in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and maintained offices in various countries around the world. From 2012 to 2015, Foreign Oil Company-1 had an office in Washington, D.C., which acted as its representative for governmental and business affairs in the United States.”
“Foreign Bank-1 was a retail banking chain headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. Foreign Bank-1 served low-income sectors in Mexico and Central America, providing money transfer, consumer financing, depository, and other services. It was owned by Mexican Company-1, a Mexican finance and retail holding company. Mexican Company-1, in turn, was a member of Mexican Conglomerate-1, a Mexican corporate conglomerate.”
In a separate matter, in September 2023 the DOJ announced criminal charges against U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife for accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes … in exchange for Menendez’s agreement to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt.
