Below are some individuals that had links to Biden family members and business associates.
Hunter Biden and Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky were connected through the gas company Burisma, which Zlochevsky founded; the younger Biden joined Burisma in April 2014 as a board member. A set of emails released by the New York Post showed Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi asking Biden's help about “politically motivated actions” towards the oligarch. Biden’s influence eventually led to the firing of top Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating alleged corruption by Zlochevsky – including the oligarch’s use of his position as the minister of ecology and natural resources to favor Burisma in government projects.
Russian businesswoman Elena Baturina wired $3.5 million to a bank account owned by investment firm Rosemont Seneca Thornton, which Hunter Biden co-founded. Baturina was formerly the wife of Yury Luzhkov, the late former mayor of Moscow dismissed by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010. Reports stated that Luzhkov used his position as mayor to approve more than 20 construction projects to be built by a company owned by Baturina.
Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev sent a $142,300 payment to Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer “for a car.” The payment’s timing coincided with a visit by Joe Biden to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to talk about Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Rakishev’s wife is the daughter of retired politician Imangali Tasmagambetov, a close confidant of former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Given Rakishev’s connections and Nazarbayev’s pro-Russia stance, the fund transfer to Archer raises serious questions.
Johnson and Grassley's report also uncovered Hunter Biden’s links to individuals connected to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese military force. These connections resulted in “millions of dollars in cash flow,” but threaten U.S. national security.
Chinese tycoon Ye Jianming, who founded CEFC China Energy Co., was a frequent figure in Hunter Biden’s business transactions in China. A second set of emails released by the Post showed the younger Biden negotiating with Ye for the organization of a new company. However, the Chinese government put the tycoon under scrutiny for “suspected economic crimes” in 2018 and took him into custody. There has been no word about his release as of writing. Speaking to the New Yorker magazine in 2019, Hunter Biden described Ye’s investigation and detention as “bad luck.”
Meanwhile, Gongwen Dong was a business associate of Ye who executed transactions on behalf of the tycoon’s companies. According to the report, the younger Biden and Dong opened up a credit line at a bank using the holding company. Credit cards issued under the account were made available to Hunter, his uncle James Biden and James’ wife Sara. James and Sara Biden charged more than $100,000 worth of “extravagant items” to the credit line.
Hunter Biden’s connections with questionable individuals is a threat to national security once his father Joe Biden wins the November presidential elections. Aside from the obvious conflicts of interest, unscrupulous personalities will definitely use these connections to blackmail the Biden family.
The Chinese Communist Party is one group that stands to benefit from a Biden presidency, thus it expressed its support for the Democratic candidate. An article by Yang Sheng of the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times described Hunter Biden’s father as “smoother to deal with” compared to the “more troublesome” incumbent.
Joe Biden would definitely “smoother to deal with” if he becomes president, as his son’s dealings with individuals of questionable background can simply be leveraged to further foreign interests in America.
Sources include:
HSGAC.Senate.gov [PDF]