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Joe Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired, according to allegations contained in an unclassified FBI document released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Grassley said he released the document, which describes an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a Ukrainian business executive, so that the American people can "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats."
President Biden has snapped at reporters who have asked him about alleged corruption involving him and his son, Hunter Biden. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The document in question is an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which Grassley acquired via legally protected disclosures by Justice Department whistleblowers, according to the senator's office.
That FD-1023 — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — reflects the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants Americans to "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats." (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reviewed the document, which includes new information, including the identity of the business executive — Burisma CEO Zlochevsky — and the allegations that he was "coerced" into paying Joe Biden and Hunter Biden millions of dollars to get a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his firm fired.
In the form, Zlochevsky tells the source he has "many text messages and ‘recordings’ that show he was coerced to make such payments" to the Bidens.
Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.
Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.
The unclassified document is dated June 30, 2020, and says the contact with the source was "telephonic."
The source reported to the FBI that "in late 2015 or 2016, during the Obama/Biden Administration, CHS was first introduced to officials at Ukraine natural gas business Burisma Holdings through [redacted] Oleksandr Ostapenko." The form reflects that there is an additional FD-1023 detailing information brought by the source dated Jan. 2, 2018.
"CHS and Ostapenko traveled to Ukraine and went to Burisma’s office…the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Burisma’s interest in purchasing a US-based oil and gas business, for purposes of merging it with Burisma for purposes of conducting an IPO in the US," the form states. "Burisma was willing to purchase a US-based entity for $20-$30 million."
The form states that the CHS attended that meeting, as well as Burisma’s CFO Vadim Pojarski and Karina Zlochevsky, the daughter of CEO and founder Mykola Zlochevsky.
Hunter Biden, left, and Mykola Zlochevsky (Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has previously reported that Hunter Biden and his business associates had much contact with Pojarskii [Pozharsky] about his role on the board of the company.
"During the meeting Pojarskii asked CHS whether CHS was aware of Burisma’s Board of Directors. CHS replied ‘no,’ and Pojarski advised the board members included: 1) the former president or prime minister of Poland; and 2) Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
"Pojarskii said Burisma hired the former president or prime minister of Poland to leverage his contacts in Europe for prospective oil and gas deals," the form states.
Burisma said they "hired Hunter Biden ‘to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.’"
The source asked why Burisma needed his assistance regarding the merger of the U.S.-based company when Biden was on their board, to which Pojarskii replied: "Hunter Biden was not smart, and they wanted to get additional counsel."
The form jumps to a meeting the source detailed that took place two months later. The source met with Mykola Zlochevsky in Vienna, Austria, outside a coffee shop, along with Ostapenko.
"CHS recalled this meeting took place around the time Joe Biden made a public statement about (former) Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin being corrupt, and that he should be fired/removed from office," the form states. "CHS told Zlochevsky that due to Shokin’s investigation into Burisma, which was made public at this time, it would have a substantial negative impact on Burisma’s prospective IPO in the United States."
"Zlochevsky replied something to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry Hunter will take care of those issues through his dad," the form states, adding that the source "did not ask any further questions about what that specifically meant."
Hunter Biden arrives at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Zlochevsky went on to say, "Hunter Biden advised Burisma it could raise much more capital if Burisma purchased a larger US-based business that already had a history in the US oil and gas sector." The source said Zlochevsky mentioned a business in Texas.
"CHS advised Zlochevsky it would be problematic to raise capital in the US given Shokin’s investigation into Burisma as nobody in the US would invest in a company that was the subject of a criminal investigation," the form states.
"CHS suggested it would be best if Burisma simply litigate the matter in Ukraine, and pay some attorney $50,000," the form states, but Zlochevsky said Burisma "would likely lose the trial because he could not show that Burisma was innocent."
"Zlochevsky also laughed at CHS’s number of $50,000 (not because of the small amounts but because the number contained a ‘5’) and said that ‘it costs 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden."
"CHS noted that at this time, it was unclear to CHS whether these alleged payments were already made," the form states.
World Food Program USA Board Chairman Hunter Biden and Vice President Joe Biden. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA)
But the form states that the source told Zlochevsky that "any such payments to the Bidens would complicate matters, and Burisma should hire ‘some normal US oil and gas advisors’ because the Bidens have no experience with the business sector."
"Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden ‘was stupid, and his [Zlochevsky’s] dog was smarter,’ Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden [on the board] ‘so everything will be okay,’" the form states.
The source went on to ask "whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should retain Hunter."
"Zlochevsky replied: ‘They both did.’"
The source retired that this was a "mistake," and that Zlochevsky "should fire Hunter Biden and deal with Shokin’s investigation directly so that the matter" stayed an issue in Ukraine and so that it did not "turn into some international matter," to which Zlochevsky stressed not to worry and "this thing will go away anyway."
"CHS replied that, notwithstanding Shokin’s investigation, it was still a bad decision for Burisma to spend $20-30 million to buy a US business, and that CHS didn’t want to be involved with the Biden matter," the form states.
President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
"Zlochevsky responded that he appreciated CHS’s advice, but that ‘it’s too late to change his decision.’"
"CHS understood this to mean that Zlochevsky had already paid the Bidens, presumably to ‘deal with Shokin,’" the form states.
"It is remarkable that congressional Republicans, in their eagerness to go after President Biden regardless of the truth, continue to push claims that have been debunked for years and that they themselves have cautioned to take ‘with a grain of salt’ because they could be ‘made up,’" said White House spokesman Ian Sams. "These claims have reportedly been scrutinized by the Trump Justice Department, a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, and a full impeachment trial of the former President that centered on these very issues, and over and over again, they have been found to lack credibility. It’s clear that congressional Republicans are dead-set on playing shameless, dishonest politics and refuse to let truth get in the way. It is well past time for news organizations to hold them to basic levels of factual accountability for their repeated and increasingly desperate efforts to mislead both the public and the press."
The FBI said in a statement that the release of the 1023 risked the safety of a confidential source:
"Throughout the FBI’s engagements with Congress, we have been guided by our obligation to protect the physical safety of confidential human sources and the integrity of sensitive investigations. We have repeatedly explained to Congress, in correspondence and in briefings, how critical it is to keep this source information confidential. In the face of these significant concerns, the FBI negotiated a resolution with Chairman Comer to provide the information requested in a manner that protects the safety of confidential sources and integrity of investigations."
Meanwhile, the form jumps to a "2016/2017 telephone call" the source had with Zlochevsky after the 2016 presidential election. Zlochevsky said he was "not happy Trump won the election."
"CHS asked Zlochevsky whether he was concerned about Burisma’s involvement with the Bidens," the form states. "Zlochevsky stated he didn't want to pay the Bidens and he was ‘pushed to pay’ them."
The source explained to the FBI agent taking notes of his conversation that the Russian term Zlochevsky used to explain the payments was "poluchili." The form states that "literally translates to; 'got it’ or ‘received it’ but is also used in "Russian criminal slang for being ‘forced or coerced to pay.’"
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At this point, Shokin had already been fired. Zlochevsky said "nobody would find out about his financial dealings with the Bidens."
"CHS then stated, ‘I hope you have some back-up (proof) for your words (namely, that Zlochevsky was ‘forced’ to pay the Bidens)."
"Zlochevsky replied he has many text messages and ‘recordings’ that show that he was coerced to make such payments," the form states. "CHS told Zlochevsky he should make certain that he should retain those recordings."
The form then jumps to a 2019 telephone call between the source and Ostapenko, in which they discussed "various business matters" unrelated to Burisma.
"During the call, Zlochevsky asked CHS and/or Ostapenko if they read the recent news reports about the investigations into the Bidens and Burisma, and Zlochevsky jokingly asked if the CHS was an ‘oracle’ (due to CHS’s prior advice that Zlochevsky should not pay the Bidens and instead to hire an attorney to litigate the allegations concerning Shokin’s investigation)," the form states.
"CHS mentioned Zlochevsky might have difficulty explaining suspicious wire transfers that may evidence any (illicit) payments to the Bidens," the form states. "Zlochevsky responded he did not send any funds directly to the ‘Big Guy’ (which CHS understood was a reference to Joe Biden)."
President Biden and Hunter Biden. (Getty Images)
The form says CHS asked Zlochevsky how many companies and bank accounts he controlled, to which he responded it would "take them (investigators) 10 years to find the records (i.e. illicit payments to Joe Biden)."
While the source detailed the conversations with Zlochevsky, he also told the FBI that "it is very common for business men in post-Soviet countries to brag or show-off" and said it is "extremely common for businesses in Russia and Ukraine to make ‘bribe’ payments to various government officials."
As for recordings and text messages of conversations with the Bidens, the source said that Zlochevsky said he had "a total of 17 recordings" involving the Bidens; "two of the recordings included Joe Biden, and the remaining 15 recordings only included Hunter Biden."
The source said those recordings "evidence Zlochevsky was somehow coerced into paying the Bidens to ensure" Shokin was fired.
The source said Zlochevsky also had "two documents (which CHS understood to be wire transfer statements, bank records, etc.), that evidence some payment(s) to the Bidens were made, presumably in exchange for Shokin’s firing."
"For the better part of a year, I’ve been pushing the Justice Department and FBI to provide details on its handling of very significant allegations from a trusted FBI informant implicating then-Vice President Biden in a criminal bribery scheme," Grassley said. "While the FBI sought to obfuscate and redact, the American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats, thanks to brave and heroic whistleblowers. What did the Justice Department and FBI do with the detailed information in the document? And why have they tried to conceal it from Congress and the American people for so long?"
Grassley added: "The Justice Department and FBI have failed to come clean, but Chairman Comer and I intend to find out."
Comer subpoenaed the FBI to turn over the unredacted document to Congress. The FBI did not comply, but instead, made accommodations to allow lawmakers to review the document in a secure setting last month.
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"The FBI’s Biden Bribery Record tracks closely with the evidence uncovered by the Oversight Committee’s Biden family influence peddling investigation," House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer said. "In the FBI’s record, the Burisma executive claims that he didn’t pay the ‘big guy’ directly but that he used several bank accounts to conceal the money. That sounds an awful lot like how the Bidens conduct business: using multiple bank accounts to hide the source and total amount of the money."
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 8, 2023. (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Comer added: "At our hearing with IRS whistleblowers, they testified that they had never seen or heard of this record during the Biden criminal investigation, despite having potentially corroborating evidence. Given the misconduct and politicization at the Department of Justice, the American people must be able to read this record for themselves. I thank Senator Grassley for providing much needed transparency to the American people."
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