Federal prosecutors investigating Democratic senator Bob Menendez's wife in fraud probe

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Nadine Arslanian, the wife of senior US Senator Bob Menendez, accepted gifts or services in exchange for favors from her husband, US media said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said on Friday that the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York has subpoenaed associates of Arslanian.

Subpoenas issued in recent months have sought information on the couple, but it is not clear what specific information they are seeking.

The current probe dates back to at least 2019, according to the Journal, when federal investigators issued search warrants at the home and office of businessman Wael Hana, who runs the only company allowed to certify halal (approved by Muslim rules) meat exports to Egypt.

Hana, the founder of IS EG Halal, is reportedly an associate of Arslanian.

Prosecutors were examining possible undisclosed foreign lobbying in the US and other potential violations of federal law, according to court documents filed in 2020 by Hana's lawyer Lawrence Lustberg.

In a statement, the lawyer said that Hana is aware of the government's ongoing probe and has asked prosecutors to share more information about the focus of the probe so he can address any concerns.

He said he believes the probe will find that Hana did "nothing wrong, including that IS EG was awarded its Halal certification contract with Egypt without any assistance whatsoever from any US public official."

Also, prosecutors in recent months reportedly subpoenaed a New Jersey lawyer, Antranig Aslanian, who is a longtime friend of Arslanian and has represented Hana.

The probe is separate from a 2015 public-corruption case prosecutors brought against Menendez, which led to a mistrial.