Hunter Biden, the son of former US Vice President Joe Biden, is currently receiving a great deal of attention amid reports of his involvement with the Ukrainian oil and gas companies Burisma. While Biden was appointed to the board in 2014, questions arose in 2019 about his involvement with the company and his potential conflicts of interest with his father’s role in the Obama administration.
Recent reports, however, indicate that Hunter Biden claimed he did not stand to gain anything in his controversial Burisma role, despite making millions. While Biden never confirmed his involvement in the company, documents from his laptop show that he was paid millions in fees and expenses for his work with Burisma and other foreign entities.
The most notable deals made by Hunter Biden while at the company include a $50,000-a-month consulting gig, a $3.5 million payout related to a bogus Ukrainian business, and an investment in a Vietnamese company. Biden also received a $1.5 million bonus from Burisma in exchange for his promise to use his influence in the Obama administration to do the company’s bidding.
The documents also revealed that Hunter Biden was paid $3 million over the course of two years in consulting fees from Burisma, in addition to the bonuses and expenses discussed above. During this time, the company was under investigation by the Ukrainian government for corruption.
Despite all of these payments from Burisma, emails from Hunter Biden show that he was claiming to not make any money from his position at the company. When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Hunter Biden said that any payments he received were to cover his expenses and not to make any personal gain.
While Hunter Biden insists that he did not make any money from his position at Burisma, it is clear that the company was clearly profiting from its relationship with him. Furthermore, the questionable financial dealings and conflicts of interest that Biden was involved in while working for the company have come to the forefront of the political conversation in the United States. As such, it is important that the public is made aware of these issues and that the full truth is brought to light.
