News

A 54-page indictment charging Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) with bribery, corruption and money laundering is drawing new attention to a long-recognized gap in the U.S. regulatory framework against illicit finance: domestic politically exposed persons, also known as PEPs. Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda, 67, were charged in Texas this month with accepting and laundering $600,000 of bribes from a "foreign bank headquartered in Mexico City," which reports have since identified as Banco Azteca, and from SOCAR, an Azerbaijani state-run oil company, in exchange for "performing officials acts in his capacity as a member of Congress." Pursuant to the Bank...