The list of 'kickback' cases involving US Congressman Menendez continues to grow longer.

Reuters, citing the indictment, reported that in June 2021, Menendez introduced Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family who ran the aforementioned investment company. The indictment did not name the Qatari company.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez during a court visit in New York City.

Prosecutors allege that Menendez made public statements supporting the Qatari government while a Qatari company was considering investing in a real estate development project owned by Daibes. In August 2021, Senator Menendez allegedly showed Daibes a press release praising the Qatari government, and by May 2022, the Qatari company had signed a letter expressing its intention to enter into a joint venture with Daibes's company, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that Menendez received a quick kickback for assisting Daibes. According to the prosecution, a Qatari official gave a relative of Menendez's wife, Nadine Menendez, tickets to a Formula 1 race in Miami, Florida, in May 2022, and Daibes gave Menendez a gold bar in return. Prosecutors also found that in late May 2022, after having dinner with his wife and Daibes, Menendez searched on Google for the "price of one kilogram of gold." Daibes was also charged in the case but pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled for May 6th.

Previously, Menendez was accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes between 2018 and 2022 to use his influence to serve the interests of the Egyptian government. He was also accused of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government. According to a revised indictment released on January 2, agents found more than $480,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes "and hidden in clothing, wardrobes, and safes" during a search of Menendez's home.

Meanwhile, on January 2, Senator Menendez's lawyer, Adam Fee, asserted that the senator had acted "entirely appropriately" regarding Qatar and Egypt. "These new allegations change nothing, and their hypothesis will not stand a chance in the eyes of a court or jury," Fee emphasized, according to Reuters.

Mr. Menendez (70 years old) maintains he did nothing wrong, but has temporarily resigned as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the allegations were first made in September 2023. Mr. Menendez has been a senator representing New Jersey since 2006, after serving as a congressman for 14 years. He is considered a core member of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Congress for the past three decades.

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