By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife Imelda were indicted this week for accepting bribes in two separate schemes intended to benefit the government of Azerbaijan and a bank headquartered in Mexico.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury on Tuesday and unsealed on Friday, alleges that from December 2014 through at least November 2021, Cuellar and his wife accepted close to $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and the bank, which was not named.
The indictment said the bribes were laundered through sham consulting contracts and into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. In exchange, it says the congressman sought to use his public position to influence U.S. foreign policy in Azerbaijan’s favor and to pressure U.S. government officials to help the bank lobby against anti-money laundering enforcement policies that threatened its business.
Ahead of the indictment on Friday, Cuellar issued a statement denying the allegations.
“I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations,” Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, said in a statement.
Cuellar, regarded as one of the most conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives, is seeking an 11th two-year term. He represents a district that borders Mexico and includes Laredo and parts of San Antonio.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Sarah N. Lynch, Doina Chiacu and Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
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