An FBI informant has been charged with lying to his handlers about President Joe Biden’s relationship with his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.
Alexander Smirnov falsely testified to FBI agents in June 2020 that executives connected to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 and 2016. Prosecutors announced Thursday.
According to a statement from prosecutors, Smirnov told the FBI that Burisma executives claimed he hired Hunter Biden “to protect him from all kinds of problems through his father.”
The allegations became a flashpoint in Congress over the summer as Republicans pressed the FBI to release unredacted documents documenting the allegations as they investigated Biden and his family. They acknowledged at the time that it was unclear whether the allegations were true.
Smirnov, 43, was charged with making false statements and creating false and fictitious records. No attorney was immediately listed on his behalf in court records. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance in Las Vegas, but prosecutors said he was arrested on Wednesday after arriving from overseas.
The charges were brought by Justice Department Special Counsel David Wyss, who has also separately charged Hunter Biden with firearms violations and tax violations.
