WASHINGTON — Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat of Louisiana, was indicted yesterday on federal charges of racketeering, moneylaundering, and soliciting more than $400,000 in bribes in connection with years of trying to broker business deals in Africa.

The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Mr. Jefferson’s home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in a box in his freezer.

The indictment in federal court in Alexandria, Va., lists 16 alleged violations with prison terms totaling as much as 235 years. Mr. Jefferson is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy.

He is the first sitting congressman to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corporate bribery overseas. Mr. Jefferson is to be arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Mr. Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes from 11 different companies for himself and his family, and also of bribing a Nigerian official. The scheme was complicated, and Mr. Jefferson set up a front company to hide the money, prosecutors said.

“But the essence of the charges are really very simple: Mr. Jefferson corruptly traded on his good office and on the Congress,” said Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney for eastern Virginia.

The 60-year-old Mr. Jefferson, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was reelected last year despite the investigation.

Joseph Persichini, who leads FBI’s Washington field office, called on the public to “take the time, read this charging document line by line, scheme by scheme, count by count. This case is about greed, power, and arrogance.”

Mr. Jefferson, in New Orleans yesterday, could not immediately be reached for comment. His lawyer was planning an afternoon news conference.

The House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is expected to push this week for Mr. Jefferson to be stripped of his seat on the Small Business Committee, according to a leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced.

“If these charges are proven true, they constitute an egregious and unacceptable abuse of public trust and power,” said Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat of California. “Democrats are committed to upholding a high ethical standard and eliminating corruption and unethical behavior from the Congress.”

The House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said Mr. Jefferson should be expelled from Congress if he is found guilty and refuses to resign.

“The American people rightfully expect the highest ethical standards from their elected leaders,” Mr. Boehner said.

Two of Mr. Jefferson’s associates have struck plea bargains with prosecutors and have been sentenced.

Brett Pfeffer, a former congressional aide, acknowledged soliciting bribes on Mr. Jefferson’s behalf and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Another Mr. Jefferson associate, Louisville, Ky., telecommunications executive Vernon Jackson, pleaded guilty to paying between $400,000 and $1 million in bribes to Mr. Jefferson in exchange for his assistance securing business deals in Nigeria and other African nations. Jackson was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Both Pfeffer and Jackson agreed to cooperate in the case against Mr. Jefferson.