According to a court document released on Tuesday, US Senator Robert Menendez, who has already been accused of corruption and influence peddling in favor of Egypt, is now accused of similar actions in favor of Qatar, according to AFP, citing Agerpres.

Federal justice accuses him of facilitating Qatari investment in a real estate project in New Jersey, near New York, in exchange for bribes.

According to the indictment, Robert Menendez made “several public statements in support of the government of Qatar,” which he rushed to the developer of the real estate project to share with his contacts in Qatar.

In addition, he would introduce this developer, Fred Dybes, to a member of the royal family of Qatar, one of the directors of the investment company.

The 70-year-old Democratic senator allegedly accepted and received, along with his wife, “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes,” including gold bars, large sums of money and other valuables, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors, who pieced together the already notorious Egypt file with this new component. as far as Qatar is concerned.

According to investigative documents cited by US media, after a trip to Egypt and Qatar with his wife in October 2021, Menendez allegedly searched the Internet to find out the value of a gold bar.

Prosecutors say Menendez and his wife were paid in gold, cash and other gifts. The indictment details an exchange of messages between Dybes ​​and Menendez in which Dybes ​​allegedly offered him several luxury watches valued between $10,000 and $24,000.

His wife, Nadine, was allegedly propositioned in absentia by Wael Khan, an Egyptian businessman, according to the original indictment.

The indictment accuses Menendez and his wife of attempting to conceal the nature of the bribes they allegedly took by passing them off as loans he was supposed to repay.

The indictment accused Menendez of acting as a foreign agent while chairing the Foreign Relations Committee and having access to classified information.

In September, the congressman completely denied the previous accusations, rejecting demands to resign. However, he relinquished his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Cuban-born politician, a political veteran, pleaded not guilty to previous charges at the end of September. The court hearing will begin on May 6.

The rich emirate is not mentioned for the first time in this type of business. In late 2022, “Qatargate” rocked the European Parliament with allegations of “corruption” involving a “Gulf country,” quickly identified as Qatar, suspected of “influencing economic and political decisions” of European MEPs.