Washington [USA], May 4: On May 4, CNN reported that US Congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, had just been indicted for accepting bribes of nearly 600,000 USD (more than 15.2 billion VND) from two foreign organizations.
This Democratic congressman is accused in an incident that occurred from late 2014 to at least November 2021. Mr. Cuellar and his wife first appeared in court on May 3 in Houston (Texas) and were bailed in the amount of 100,000 USD.
In addition to accusations of accepting bribes, this congressman and his wife were also prosecuted for a number of other crimes, including money laundering.
In a statement released on May 3, Mr. Cuellar said: "I want to make it clear that my wife and I are innocent of these charges. What I did in Congress was to serve the people of South Texas."
He affirmed that what he did was "for the benefit of the American people" and pledged to continue his efforts to run for re-election in November. In addition, he also denied the accusations against his wife.
Prosecutors say Cuellar and his wife plotted for two years to receive bribes from foreign entities, including an oil and gas company "wholly owned and controlled by the government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City (Mexico)".
In exchange for the bribe from the Azerbaijani oil company, Mr. Cuellar "agreed to perform official acts as a member of parliament, to commit acts in violation of his official duties and to acted as a representative of the government of Azerbaijan" and the bank, according to the indictment.
Among those promises, prosecutors allege Mr. Cuellar agreed to influence U.S. policy through a "series of legislative measures related to Azerbaijan's conflict with neighboring Armenia."
Accordingly, Mr. Cuellar agreed to give a speech in support of Azerbaijan in the US House of Representatives, put the language "supported by Azerbaijan" into the law as well as the committee report and support "a series of legislative measures". law regarding Azerbaijan's conflict with neighboring Armenia".
The congressman also allegedly promised to influence financial regulations in favor of Mexican banks and their affiliates. The couple received the money through front companies owned by the wife, according to prosecutors.
They allegedly used the bribe money to pay taxes, pay off debt and spend tens of thousands of dollars at restaurants and retail stores, including buying a dress for $12,000.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper