A former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant, Alexander Smirnov, has been charged for providing false testimony alleging that US President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, each received $5 million in bribes from a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma Holdings Ltd.
The indictment reveals Smirnov reported to an FBI agent in March 2017 that he was in contact with the owner of the aforementioned company, who was interested in acquiring a U.S. company and listing it on a U.S. stock exchange. In his report to the agency, Smirnov claimed that President Biden and Hunter Biden were on the board of the company.
By June 2020, Smirnov had created a false record alleging that executives of the Ukrainian company had informed him that the Bidens were paid $5 million by the company for protection during a criminal investigation. These charges come under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record, and 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for falsifying records during a federal investigation.
The indictment further states, the defendant transformed routine business contacts with Burisma into bribery allegations against the Bidens after showing bias against their candidacy.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Smirnov was interrogated by FBI Agents in September 2023. He repeatedly made false assertions, changed his story and falsely claimed he had met with Russian officials.
The charges against Smirnov were laid by the Justice Department’s special counsel, David Weiss, who has already brought two cases against Hunter Biden for failure to pay taxes and unlawful possession of a firearm.
If convicted, Smirnov could face up to 25 years in prison.
More details about the case can be found in the original article on JURIST – News.