Hunter Biden Received More Than $20 Million From Foreign Sources, and Joe Biden Joined Two of Them for Dinner: Report
The House Oversight Committee released new financial records showing that more than $20 million was funneled to Hunter Biden’s firm from Russian and Ukrainian entities, among others.
The latest trove of financial documents released by the House Oversight Committee shows that Hunter Biden’s firm received large sums of money from business interests in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. In total, the committee has discovered more than $20 million in foreign money flowing to the Biden family through Mr. Biden’s businesses.
A new memo detailing bank records released by the Oversight Committee shows that Mr. Biden received millions of dollars from a Russian oligarch, Yelena Baturina, and a Kazakhstani banking magnate, Kenes Rakishev — two individuals who at one point had dinner with President Biden during the Obama administration.
In its memo, the Oversight Committee also mentioned the previously disclosed money from a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, which paid Mr. Biden north of $80,000 per month during his father’s time as vice president.
The memo is the latest report that flies in the face of the elder Mr. Biden’s repeated assertions that he “knew nothing” about and was not involved in his son’s business affairs. In a statement released Wednesday, the Oversight Committee’s chairman, Congressman James Comer, said these large sums are part of the younger Mr. Biden’s use of the family “brand” to peddle influence related to his father’s position to enrich himself.
“During Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden sold him as ‘the brand’ to reap millions from oligarchs in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. It appears no real services were provided other than access to the Biden network, including Joe Biden himself,” Mr. Comer wrote. “It’s clear Joe Biden knew about his son’s business dealings and allowed himself to be ‘the brand’ sold to enrich the Biden family while he was Vice President of the United States.”
Payments from the Ukrainians include the $1 million annual salary Mr. Biden received from Burisma. From Russia, Ms. Baturina — a billionaire whose husband served as mayor of Moscow for nearly 20 years — sent Mr. Biden $3.5 million through a shell company for undisclosed services.
Mr. Rakishev sent Mr. Biden more than $140,000, which was quickly used to buy a luxury Fisker sports car that Mr. Biden later traded for a silver Porsche, according to court filings. All the funds were sent to three of Mr. Biden and Devon Archer’s companies — Rosemont Seneca Partners, Rosemont Seneca Thornton, and Rosemont Seneca Bohai.
As for the dinner with the elder Mr. Biden, the committee reports it occurred in 2014 at the District of Columbia’s exclusive Cafe Milano restaurant, with the vice president and Ms. Baturina in attendance, as well as Hunter and other Russian and Eastern European oligarchs.
Wednesday’s memo is the third in a series of disclosures made by the Oversight Committee. The first memo, released in March just a few weeks after the investigation began, showed that Mr. Biden and another associate, Rob Walker, set up a limited liability company to send foreign funds to members of the Biden family.
Beau Biden’s widow, Hallie, who entered into a short-lived romance with her brother-in-law after her husband’s death, received tens of thousands of dollars from Mr. Walker’s shell company for unknown reasons. The president’s brother, James, who often worked on lobbying and consulting issues with his nephew, was also receiving money from Mr. Walker. There was another member of the Biden family who was receiving funds but could not be identified by the committee.
The second bank memo, released in May, drew on “thousands of records” the Oversight Committee received from four financial institutions. That memo detailed more than $10 million in payments sent to members of the Biden family from business entities in Ukraine, Romania, and Communist China. The committee also discovered during that round of investigations that 20 LLCs had been formed during the elder Mr. Biden’s time as vice president.