American Senator and his wife, who is of Armenian descent, accused of financial fraud
According to a recent US Department of Justice report, Nadine Arslanian regularly received expensive gifts from a New Jersey-based food manufacturer, Azernews reports, citing the New York Post.
The Egyptian officials and the New Jersey businessman contracted were hosted by Menendez at his office in 2018. A year later, the businessman became the sole certifier of halal meat exported from the U.S. to Egypt.
The investigation looked at whether Menendez could have improperly used his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to influence the deal. According to an NBC report earlier this year, the committee oversees about $2 billion in U.S. aid to Egypt.
Recall that pro-Armenian Senator Menendez is widely known for
his anti-Azerbaijani statements aimed at undermining the peace
process negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the same
time, this is not the first scandal around the senator and his
entourage. The fact that he also receives sponsorship from the
Armenian lobby in the US is also well known.
Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Arslanian
came under federal investigation for receiving unregistered luxury
gifts, including a car and a flat in Washington, D.C., in exchange
for political favours. The investigation began within months of
their relationship beginning in December 2020. This is the second
time the senator has come under scrutiny by federal authorities
over allegations of corruption.
The investigation revealed that between April and June 2022, Arslanian sold up to $400,000 worth of gold bullion despite facing foreclosure just three years earlier. This came months before Menendez's office publicly acknowledged that a new federal investigation was underway. The sale was a surprising financial turnaround for Arslanian, who was reportedly struggling financially before she married Menendez.
The Manhattan federal prosecutor's office is also investigating whether Nadine Arslanian received gifts or favours from individuals seeking her husband's favours. This investigation is separate from a 2015 investigation that resulted in bribery and corruption charges against Menendez, 68, and a mistrial two years later. According to the Wall Street Journal, the current investigation began in at least 2019, when federal investigators served search warrants on New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who runs the only company authorised to certify meat exported to Egypt as halal and is an associate of Arslanian. Court documents reportedly indicate that prosecutors are looking into possible undisclosed foreign lobbying.
Menendez is required to declare assets worth more than $1,000 belonging to him or his wife, and he said she had checking and savings accounts worth no more than $117,000 in the first year of their marriage. Only a month before she cashed in the gold, Menendez filed an amendment to her 2020 tax return that showed Arslanian had up to $250,000 in gold bullion. To help pay for his legal team, Menendez last month set up the Menendez Legal Defence Fund. Between January and April of this year, Menendez for Senate spent nearly $187,000 on "legal services" to firms in Chicago and Washington. According to Menendez's most recent financial disclosures, Arslanian earned income from her consulting business and Fusion Diagnostics Laboratories, a medical testing company in New Jersey.
Menendez and Arslanian married in October 2020 in a ceremony moved outdoors due to the coronavirus pandemic. They had a small outdoor reception with family and friends at Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Bayside, Queens. Menendez proposed at the Taj Mahal, standing behind his bride-to-be at Princess Diana's bench and humming the song "Never Enough" from the film "The Greatest Showman."
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian have been charged with financial fraud, including allegations of bribery and corruption, undisclosed foreign lobbying and unregistered luxury gifts. Although the spouses deny any wrongdoing, the federal investigation continues.
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