Hunter Biden received $3.5 million wire transfer in 2014 from Russian billionaire
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Hunter Biden had a ‘financial relationship’ with the widow of a Moscow mayor who was ousted over corruption allegations, according to a report from Republican senators.
The 87-page report was released on Wednesday by the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee, and focuses on Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine.
The report did not implicate Joe Biden in wrongdoing, focusing instead on his son Hunter, who it said ‘cashed in’ on his father’s position by joining the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
It also states that on Valentine’s Day in 2014, Hunter Biden’s company Rosemont Seneca Thornton received a $3.5 million wire from Elena Baturina, a Russian billionaire and the widow of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Hunter Biden had a ‘financial relationship’ with the ex-wife of a Moscow mayor who was ousted over corruption allegations, according to a report from Republican senators
Biden’s firm received a $35 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina (left, and right with Vladimir Putin), the richest woman in Russia with a fortune of $1.2 billion
In 2010, Russia’s president fired Luzhkov as mayor over corruption allegations, which were never proven in court prior to his death last year.
Baturina, with an estimated fortune of $1.2 billion, is the richest woman in Russia. Much of her fortune was built with construction firm Inteco, which dominated the construction business in Moscow, thanks in part to lucrative government contracts.
The GOP report also states that between May 6, 2015 and December 8, 2015, Baturina sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC, a technology startup based in Buffalo, New York. The transactions all listed ‘Loan Agreement’ in the payment details section.
Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were first sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA, according to the report.
BAK USA, which proposed to manufacture computer tablets in partnership with unnamed Chinese partners, was repeatedly touted by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as a success story in his tax-break scheme to lure startups.
The company filed for bankruptcy liquidation in 2019 with $39.4 million in debts and just $147,000 in assets. It’s unclear what connection Hunter Biden or his firm had to the now-defunct company.
Baturina is the widow of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (with her above). In 2010, Russia’s president fired Luzhkov as mayor over corruption allegations, which were never proven
The report also highlighted payments that Baturina made to Hunter Biden’s firm, which were then passed on to a tech startup in Buffalo touted by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (above). The startup, BAK USA, later declared bankruptcy with net debt of $39 million
Joe Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com on Wednesday seeking comment about his alleged financial relationship with Baturina.
However, Biden’s campaign immediately panned the report, released six weeks before the election, as an effort by an ally of President Donald Trump’s to damage his election opponent.
The campaign said the investigation was founded on “a long-disproven, hardcore rightwing conspiracy theory” and, even before the report was released, issued a detailed statement aiming to rebut point-by-point allegations that it said had long been debunked by media organizations as well as by U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine remains a prominent line of attack in conservative circles heading into the election.
Trump himself has repeatedly drawn attention to the issue, with his request for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens spurring an impeachment case against him.
The report did not implicate Joe Biden in wrongdoing, focusing instead on his son Hunter, who it said ‘cashed in’ on his father’s position as vice president
He’s continued to trumpet the claims even as his own administration has warned of a concerted Russian effort to denigrate Joe Biden and has asserted that a Ukrainian lawmaker who is involved in spreading an “unsubstantiated” anti-Biden narrative has been an “active Russian agent” for over a decade.
The investigation, from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee, produced stark political divisions.
Democrats have accused Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the Homeland Security chair, of a politically motivated initiative at a time when they say the committee should be focused on the pandemic response and other, less partisan issues.
Johnson has acknowledged in interviews that he hoped to complete the report before the election, telling The Associated Press last month that the “American people deserve the truth” about his probe.
But he has also been on the defensive over Democratic accusations that his investigation was serving to amplify Russian disinformation. He has denied receiving information from Andrii Derkach, the Ukrainian lawmaker singled out by intelligence officials.
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