Egyptian National Indicted With Bob Menendez Is Arrested At Kennedy Airport

 Wael Hana, an Egyptian national who was indicted last week on corruption charges with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday and later made his initial appearance in court.

Hana pled not guilty and was “granted release on a $5 million personal recognizance bond and strict conditions, including the surrender of his passport,” The New York Times reported. He faces one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.

Prosecutors alleged that Hana, who is also an American citizen, helped facilitate meetings between Menendez and Egyptian government officials in an effort to get Menendez to increase U.S. aid to the Egypt.

Hana was a longtime friend of Menendez’s wife, who was also charged, and had started a halal meat company, IS EG Halal, that “the sole certifier of halal meat imported to Egypt, and the government said it became the conduit for a stream of money to the senator,” the report added.

CNN noted that the USDA contacted the Egyptian government in 2019 and objected to giving IS EG Halal a virtual monopoly over its competition.

“When Official-1 attempted to explain why the monopoly was detrimental to U.S. interests, MENENDEZ reiterated his demand, in sum and substance, that the USDA stop interfering with IS EG Halal’s monopoly,” the indictment said. “Official-1 did not accede to MENENDEZ’s demand, but IS EG Halal nevertheless kept its monopoly.”

Menendez, his wife, and the two other businessmen charged in the indictment are expected to make their arrangements in court on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The federal indictment against Menendez and his wife was unsealed on Friday and accused the senator and his wife of accepting bribes from the three businessmen in exchange for actions that he took as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to the DOJ, the bribes were intended to protect the businessmen and to benefit Egypt.

 

Menendez faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” the indictment said. Federal authorities reportedly found gold bars and nearly $500,000 in cash stuffed throughout the senator’s home that they traced back to the businessmen Menendez allegedly worked with.