Bribery Case Against US Lawmaker Implicates Mexico’s Azteca
- Foreign bank funneled $236,390 to Cuellar, prosecutors allege
- Cuellar declares innocence; bank says it has strict compliance
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An executive of Mexico’s Banco Azteca helped arrange payments to US House Democrat Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife in exchange for influence in Washington, according to court documents.
US attorneys accuse Cuellar of acting on behalf of the Mexican bank to loosen US rules regarding the shipments of US currency to banks in the US as well seeking to block “regulations detrimental to the payday lending industry.” The indictment unsealed last week in US District Court accuses Cuellar of pressuring US officials on money-laundering enforcement and seeking to change US money-laundering laws.