Nanjing-style salted ducks, delivered to the parents of a governmental aide in New York. Luxury handbags and Michelin-starred sushi dinners purchased for a former intelligence analyst in Washington. A complimentary stay in a marble-floored penthouse suite in a swanky Istanbul hotel for an ambitious New York City politician. And a gleaming Mercedes-Benz C 300 convertible, gifted to the wife of a US senator in New Jersey.
These are among the many colourful alleged kickbacks detailed in a series of recent indictments by the US Department of Justice, as part of a crackdown by prosecutors on what they say are attempts by foreign officials to buy influence in the halls of American power. They are also at the centre of a legal fight over the line between legitimate gifts and illegal bribes.
In just 12 months, criminal cases have been filed against senior Democratic senator Bob Menendez, who was convicted this summer of accepting gold bars and cash to act on behalf of Egypt; Linda Sun, a former aide to two New York governors who allegedly did China’s bidding in exchange for favourable treatment for her husband’s seafood business; and Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and security official who prosecutors claim was gathering information for South Korea, accepting sweeteners including a $2,845 Dolce & Gabbana coat.
In May, Texas congressman Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting almost $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank, allegedly using the proceeds to buy a $12,000 gown, among other items. And last week, federal prosecutors in New York filed their most explosive foreign bribery case in recent years — indicting mayor Eric Adams for allegedly helping the Turkish government in exchange for campaign donations and business-class flights, hotel suites and other travel-related gifts.