At their joint press conference, Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Nazar Kholodnitsky and director of NABU Artem Sytnik highlighted that neither Biden Sr. nor Biden Jr. is part of the $6 million bribery case. “They’re not part of this episode, so please leave all political speculations out of it,” the two told the reporters today.
Indeed, the would-have-been-closed criminal proceeding concerned the National Bank of Ukraine-Real Bank stabilization loan. At the time, the ousted president Yanukovych’s entourage controlled Real Bank, and Zlochevsky served as the country’s Minister of Ecology. The agreement was signed on November 8, 2013, while Hunter Biden made a controversial decision to join Burisma’s board in April 2014. Thus, Biden Jr., even theoretically, couldn’t have been involved in any shady dealings of the aforementioned criminal case.
As Apostrophe reported earlier, on June 12, Ukrainian prosecutors detained the first deputy head of the State Fiscal Service’s Main Department in Kyiv Mykola Ilyashenko, Burisma’s former chief legal officer Andrii Kicha, and an unknown ex-Fiscal Service employee on the account of attempted bribe.
Burisma, which was at the heart of Donald Trump’s impeachment procedure, denied any part in the events, claiming the company has always adhered to the law.
The Burisma Group and its management have nothing to do with the report of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and some media outlets about participation in illegal actions. In order to avoid speculation, we ask media representatives to avoid identifications and assumptions. The company works exclusively within the framework of the current legislation, is one of the largest taxpayers and defends the interests of energy independence of Ukraine,” they said in their official statement.
As Apostrophe's correspondent reports from Sytnyk and Kholodnytsky's briefing, NABU and SAPO are currently verifying if any of the defendants are linked to Burisma.
According to a source within the Burisma Group, Kicha has not been a Burisma employee for over six months.