Federal authorities are accusing U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of introducing a member of the Qatari royal family to a New Jersey businessman seeking investments in a real estate project, an indictment said Tuesday.
The indictment against the New Jersey Democrat in Manhattan federal court did not identify the member of the Qatari royal family, but it said the individual was a principal of the Qatari Investment Company.
The indictment said the Qatari investor negotiated a multimillion-dollar investment in the real estate project planned by Fred Daibes, one of three businessmen charged in the indictment along with the senator and his wife. All have pleaded not guilty.
Messages left with lawyers and a spokesperson for Menendez were not immediately returned.
Tim Donohue, a lawyer for Daibes, said he had no immediate comment.
The indictment is the latest version of one that already charged Menendez in a bribery conspiracy that allegedly enriched the senator and his wife with cash, gold bars and a luxury car. The charges involving Qatar allegedly occurred from 2021 through 2023, according to the indictment, which did not add any new charges.
After his September arrest, the senator gave up his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has resisted calls to resign from his Senate seat.
According to the indictment, Menendez accepted cash and gold bars in exchange for seeking to induce the Qatari Investment Company to invest with Daibes, including by taking actions favorable to the government of Qatar.
The indictment said that while the Qatari Investment Company was considering its investment in the real estate development owned by Daibes, Menendez made multiple public statements supporting the government of Qatar and then provided them to Daibes so he could share them with a Qatari investor and a Qatari government official.
In an earlier version of the indictment, Menendez, his wife and one of the businessmen were charged with conspiring to illegally use the senator as an agent of the Egyptian government.
Judge Sidney H. Stein, who is presiding over the case, refused last week to extend a May 5 trial date after defense lawyers requested more time to prepare for a trial that they said already includes more than 6.7 million documents.
