Hunter Biden and his Ukrainian gas company employer were involved in setting up an account at a foreign bank that was closed following a money laundering investigation.
Burisma, the allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company that hired the president’s son in 2014, set up an account with him in Malta at a bank that was later closed after a financial crime investigation, bombshell emails show.
The revelation that the First Son and Burisma are linked to a bank accused of flouting money laundering rules comes after lawmakers uncovered claims this month by a longtime FBI whistleblower that Burisma’s owners owned 10 million via a complex internet US dollars sent to Hunter and his father from offshore transactions.
Emails obtained from Hunter Biden’s laptop show he passed proof of income, passport details and even utility bills to Burisma manager Vadym Pozharskyi to set up an account with the now-defunct SataBank in Malta in 2016.
Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian gas company Burisma set him up with an account in Malta at a bank that was later closed following a financial crime investigation
Satabank was shut down in 2018 after an investigation by Malta’s anti-money laundering agency Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) found “gross deficiencies” in its compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws
Hunter was asked to produce a “certified statement of provenance”, notarize it with a solicitor and send it to the owner of an auction house in Malta.
Auctioneer Pierre Pillow and his company PGP Trading Limited were charged with money laundering millions of dollars in 2020.
Hunter gave his personal information to Burisma manager Vadym Pozharskyi to set up an account
Maltese prosecutors said they were alerted to an allegedly suspicious transaction involving the sale of a dismantled oil rig in which Burisma was involved.
During the court case, it emerged that in 2014, Burisma owner Mykola Zolchevsky stole Pillow’s apartment in Ta’
In 2014, Zlochevsky and Burisma were the target of a financial crime investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, with the support of US authorities. The case was closed without charge.
Pillow pleaded not guilty to his money laundering charges. His lawyer, Giannella de Marco, told the judge that police “did not even conduct the basic investigation,” the purchase of the rig was “a simple transaction through a Maltese company,” and that “a careful review was conducted and approved by a bank.” had been”.
There are no reports of Pillow being convicted of the alleged offences, but announcements by the Maltese government in April said his assets remained frozen.
Emails from Pozharskyi reveal that the account Burisma set up by sending documents to Pillow was with Satabank in Malta.
Satabank was shut down in 2018 after an investigation by Malta’s anti-money laundering agency Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) found “gross deficiencies” in its compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws.
“Despite acknowledging the widespread deficiencies and the risks it faced, the bank remained passive and never took remedial action,” according to a report by FIAU.
It said the bank allowed “substantial amounts of money” without adequate safeguards.
In 2014, Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky and Burisma were the target of a financial crime investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office with the support of US authorities. The case was closed without charge
Emails Hunter received from his laptop show that in 2016 he sent Pozharskyi proof of income, passport details and even utility bills to set up an account with the now-defunct SataBank in Malta
In August 2022, the Malta Gazette announced that the company owed more than US$81 million to more than 5,000 creditors as part of its liquidation.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who for four years led an investigation into the Biden family with colleague Chuck Grassley, said the FBI had serious questions to answer.
“Nobody should find this latest revelation surprising,” he told .
“The Bidens knew exactly what kind of people they were dealing with — alleged money launderers like Patrick Ho, Mykola Zlochevsky, and now allegedly Mr. Pillow.” The question now is: what did the FBI know, when did it know, and what did it counteract it?
Hunter’s connection to a bank and a foreign auctioneer accused of money laundering comes after the FBI told Congress that a whistleblower had told them about an alleged $10 million money laundering and bribery scheme he was involved in Joe and Hunter were involved in 2020.
The House Oversight Committee said it was alerted by a whistleblower to the existence of a document detailing the plan, but the FBI initially dismissed it when asking for a copy.
It was only when they were about to arrest director Christopher Wray for contempt of Congress that the Bureau relented and showed members of the Congressional Committee an edited version earlier this month.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson said the FBI had serious questions to answer. “Nobody should find this latest revelation surprising,” he told . “The Bidens knew exactly what kind of people they were dealing with”
Senator Johnson spent four years leading an investigation into the Biden family with colleague Chuck Grassley
Members of the House of Representatives said the June 30, 2020 document is a summary of claims by a longtime whistleblower who has received a total of $200,000 for information from the FBI since 2010.
The informant claimed that they had been meeting with Burisma owner Zlochevsky since 2015. The whistleblower said Zlochevsky told them about his plan to pay Hunter and his father $5 million each through a network of bank accounts that would take “10 years” to clear.
The payment was allegedly a bribe to stop an investigation into Burisma by Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin and to allow preferential treatment for the gas company. The informant claimed that the payment had actually been made.
According to the source, Zlochevsky, who is not named in the document, claimed he had 17 audio recordings: 15 of phone calls between himself and Hunter and “two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then-Vice President Joe Biden.” said Senator Chuck Grassley in a speech on Monday.
Grassley also said he saw the original, mostly unredacted version of the FBI document called FD-1023.