Trump asked Zelensky to investigate the activities of Biden’s son in Ukraine: what did he do in the country

Hunter Biden, the son of former US vice president and most likely Democratic presidential contender for the 2020 election, Joe Biden, was at the center of a high-profile political scandal that erupted in the United States.

Фото: Depositphotos

Edition with the BBC decided to tell who Hunter Biden is and what are the attempts of the Republicans to accuse him of corruption.

During a meeting with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, US President Donald Trump once again accused the former US vice president and his son of corruption.

“When Biden’s son leaves Ukraine with millions of dollars, this is corruption,” explained the head of the White House.

A few hours before the meeting, the administration released a transcript of a telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries, during which Donald Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart to “do him a favor” and reopen the investigation into the son of the former vice president.

According to Democrats in Congress, who yesterday officially announced the start of impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, his request could be regarded as “treason.”

Adam Shif, head of the House’s intelligence committee, said the president’s words are another attempt to enlist the help of a foreign state during the upcoming election campaign and use the financial and military assistance provided by Washington to Ukraine in its own political interests.

“I am shocked that the White House decided to release this transcript thinking it would somehow help the president,” the congressman said. “Because this transcript is more reminiscent of classic mafia-style blackmail of a foreign leader.”

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The main “hero” of a high-profile political scandal in the United States was the 49-year-old son of the former vice president, lawyer and lobbyist Robert Hunter Biden. For five years he was a member of the board of directors of one of the largest gas companies in Ukraine, Burisma Holdings.

Who is Hunter Biden?

Robert Hunter Biden was born on February 4 1970 of the year in Wilmington, Delaware. Two years later, his mother and younger sister died in a car accident, and Hunter himself and his brother Bo were seriously injured.

Future US Vice President Joe Biden married for the second time in 1977, when Hunter attended a Catholic school. In 1992, he graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, which belongs to the Jesuit Order, received a degree in history and for several years was a volunteer in one of the churches in Portland (Oregon).

Later, Hunter Biden decided to return to study, first joining the law faculty of the same university. A year later, he transferred to Yale, having received a law degree in 1996.

Hunter Biden worked for MBNA America banking company, US Department of Commerce and co-founded the lobbying firm Oldaker, Biden & Belair. In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed him to the board of directors of the Amtrak railway company.

After his father became vice president of the United States, Biden Jr. resigned, creating an investment company Rosemont Seneca Partners. He also began working as a lawyer at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. In 2013, he joined the board of directors of BHR Partners, which was looking for investments for the Chinese business, and in October 2017 acquired an 10 percentage in it. This investment has not yet brought Hunter Biden any profit and compensation for participation in the board of directors, he also did not receive, said his lawyer.

In April 2014, the son of the US vice president joined the board of directors of one of Ukraine’s largest gas companies, Burisma Holdings.

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What is Burisma famous for?

Burisma Holdings is considered one of the largest natural gas companies in Ukraine.

The company was created in 2002 by businessman Nikolai Zlochevsky, who is considered a close friend and ally of Viktor Yanukovych. Burisma is registered with the Cyprus offshore company Brociti Investments Limited, which also belongs to Mr. Zlochevsky.

In 2010, the businessman was appointed Minister of Ecology in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, and four years later he was forced to leave Ukraine after the Prosecutor General’s Office brought several criminal cases against him and taxpayers on suspicions of tax evasion and money laundering money.

2014 of the year, as part of an anti-corruption investigation, the British authorities froze 23 million dollars in the accounts of Nikolai Zlochevsky.

What did Hunter Biden do in Burisma?

The son of the vice president of the United States agreed to join the board of directors of the gas company in April 2014 of the year and left this position five years later, at the beginning of 2019.

A special press release issued by Burisma after his appointment stated that Hunter Biden heads the company's "legal division and provides support to the holding company in cooperation with international organizations."

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Hunter Biden himself in an interview said that this message is not true, and he never headed the legal department of the company.

According to some reports, the son of the US vice president received a salary of 50 thousand dollars per month, and for five years Burisma transferred 3,1 million dollars to his account in one of the US banks.

What is the Biden family blamed for?

After Hunter Biden became a member of the board of directors of Burisma, numerous human rights organizations in the United States and even White House workers stated that this appointment could indicate a conflict of interest: at that time his father, vice president Joe Biden, was acting as special representative of the president The United States, which is responsible for helping reform and enact anti-corruption laws in Ukraine.

Burisma’s board of directors already included well-known politicians, in particular the former President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski, and, as American media claimed, the appointment of Biden Jr. could be associated with an attempt by the company’s owners to gain “exclusive access” to key figures in the US administration.

Hunter Biden, in turn, later said that he only “briefly” mentioned his work at Burisma to his father once and never discussed the company’s affairs with him.

Among the episodes that Donald Trump recalled during a telephone conversation with Vladimir Zelensky, there is an incident involving the resignation of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.

He was appointed to this position in February 2015. Among the criminal cases he “inherited” was the case against Nikolai Zlochevsky. Later, Viktor Shokin opened another case, instructing the prosecutor’s office to check on what basis licenses for gas production were issued to Mr. Zlochevsky’s companies at a time when the businessman served as the Minister of Environment of Ukraine.

According to Donald Trump and his supporters, it was Joe Biden who insisted on the dismissal of Attorney General Shokin, resorting to ordinary blackmail for this.

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In 2019, speaking at the Washington Foreign Policy Council, the former US Vice President confirmed that in March 2016 he demanded that the Ukrainian authorities get rid of the “corrupt prosecutor general”, threatening that otherwise the US could revoke loan guarantees for Kiev for amount of 1 billion dollars.

“I said, ‘You won’t get $1 billion,’” he clarified. — I'm leaving in 6 hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you will not receive any money."

In March 2016, Ukrainian media and public organizations regularly accused Viktor Shokin of corruption, and thousands of demonstrations raged in front of the General Prosecutor’s office demanding his resignation.

According to the American media, at present, numerous criminal cases against Burisma have long been terminated, and the intervention of the US vice president could in no way affect the future of the gas company.

The fact that Hunter Biden and his father never violated the laws of Ukraine was announced in May by the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko, who resigned in August 2019.

“Hunter Biden has not violated any Ukrainian laws, at least not yet, and we have not found any violations on his part. The company can pay the members of its board of directors as much as it wants,” Yuriy Lutsenko emphasized.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• The scandal with the investigation of the son of Joe Biden flared up with renewed vigor. Now Trump faces impeachment.
• Congressmen became interested in a telephone conversation between Zelensky and Trump as part of an investigation into whether Trump and his lawyer Rudolf Giuliani tried put pressure on Ukraine in order to help Trump's election campaign in 2020 year.
• Democrats announce formal request for US impeachment, which was triggered by a conversation between Ukrainian and American leaders.
• US Department of State published conversation transcript President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and President of the United States Donald Trump.
• And an anonymous informant stated in his complaint that in the USA tried to hide the content of the conversation Trump and Zelensky.

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