The US special counsel leading a criminal investigation into Joe Biden’s son says a former FBI informant has been accused of lying about the US president and Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
So, in a statement Thursday, special counsel David Weiss said a federal grand jury indicted Alexander Smirnov, 43, on charges of making a “false statement” and “creating a false and fictitious record.” in connection with an FBI investigation. Smirnov faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.
As a result, Burisma and Hunter Biden’s role in the company has come under heavy scrutiny following unproven allegations by former Republican President Donald Trump and others that Democrat Joe Biden improperly tried to help his son’s business interests in Ukraine. The White House denied the allegations.
Smirnov was arrested Wednesday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, after arriving in the U.S. from abroad, Weiss said. It was not immediately clear whether Smirnov had a lawyer.
The indictment unsealed Thursday appeared to be a blow to Republican accusations that the U.S. president profited from his son’s business dealings in Ukraine.
It is worth remembering that Hunter Biden was part of the board of Burisma from 2014 to 2019, during part of the period when his father was vice president of the United States under former president Barack Obama.
Smirnov claimed to have spoken with Burisma’s owner in 2017 about the energy company’s efforts to buy a US company.
Additionally, the indictment says that in 2020, Smirnov made false statements reporting two meetings, in 2015 or 2016, in which executives associated with Burisma told him that they had hired Hunter Biden to “protect us, through his father, from all types of problems”.