Bitcoin Critic Senator Menendez Convicted of Taking Bribes in Gold

A jury has found U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) guilty of all charges following accusations last year that he’d accepted massive bribes from wealthy New Jersey businessmen.

The 16-count conviction on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit bribery to acting as a foreign agent has Bitcoin enthusiasts taking a victory lap given the politicians’ history of criticism around crypto-based financial crime, even though his own illicit deeds involved anything but digital assets.

“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a press release shared by the Department of Justice. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including gold, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit.”

When charged in February, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were accused of accepting bribes, for which Menendez granted political favors to his benefactors.

US Senators Still Think Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador Could Pose a Threat

While El Salvador attracts more tourists, American lawmakers are still pushing for a risk report on whether the Bitcoin-friendly nation is a potential threat to the US.  Last month, senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reintroduced a bipartisan bill asking for a State Department report on El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin and potential impacts on bilateral economic relations and law enforcement cooperation....

In one instance, prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to dismantle a criminal probe into Jose Uribe, one of the businessmen who paid him off. He also used his power to protect an Egyptian business monopoly that paid him under the table to advance Egyptian military interests.

Government prosecutors said that Nadine acted as a go-between who arranged meetings and collected bribes for the pair, which included gold bars and a convertible luxury car.

Back in September, Menendez was widely mocked for his choice of illicit payment given his prior assertion that crypto would be an effective tool for the job. “Because of the anonymous nature of Bitcoin transactions, the digital currency is an ideal choice for criminals,” he wrote in a 2017 letter to FinCEN.

Menendez also co-sponsored the Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act—legislation that sought to scrutinize how adopting Bitcoin as legal tender would empower “malign actors” and possibly encourage money laundering.

“The malign actor was Bob Menendez,” tweeted Stacy Herbert, a member of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, on Tuesday. “And the risk of money laundering was lurking inside the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.“

When combining all counts, Menendez could face a maximum of 222 years in prison if his sentences are to be served consecutively. He remains a sitting member of the U.S. Senate, although there are calls for his resignation and he could face expulsion.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.