In the US, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison. He lied about bribes to US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter from the Ukrainian company Burisma.
Reuters writes about this.
In 2020, Smirnov lied to the FBI that in 2015, then-US Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who was then on the board of directors of Burisma, each received $5 million in bribes from the company. He later admitted that he received information from Russian intelligence services.
The FBI concluded that Smirnov had fabricated the story and recommended no legal action against the Bidens. But Smirnovʼs statements led the US Congress to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden in December 2023.
In December 2024, Smirnov pleaded guilty to making false statements and evading taxes of more than $2 million. In addition to his prison sentence, he must pay more than $675,000 in restitution to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
What preceded
Alexander Smirnov is a citizen of the United States and Israel, and he worked as an FBI informant for over ten years.
During the investigation into Hunter Biden, Smirnov claimed in 2020 that the management of the Ukrainian gas production company Burisma hired Bidenʼs son for protection in 2015 and 2016.
Smirnovʼs testimony formed the basis of a Republican-led congressional investigation into President Biden and his family, and also triggered a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. The topic was actively used by former President-elect Donald Trump, who alleged that Biden illegally helped his son in his Ukrainian business dealings.
On February 16, 2024, the US Attorneyʼs Office charged FBI informant Alexander Smirnov with providing falsified testimony and fabricating records. According to the prosecutor, Smirnov had a political motivation to lie because he "didnʼt like" Biden as a politician, and Republicans pressured the FBI to release internal reports containing Smirnovʼs statements.
- In December 2024, Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter in two criminal cases — illegal possession of weapons and tax evasion.
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