Fired Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin alleged that then-second son Hunter Biden was brought onto the board of directors of Ukrainian gas company Burisma to “provide protection” for CEO and founder Mykola Zlochevsky from criminal investigation.
“I have no doubt that there are illegal activities carried out by Burisma,” he told Fox News “One Nation” host Brian Kilmeade through a translator in an interview that aired on Saturday night.
“It continued to grow and Zlochevsky, who at the time held the position of minister … began to bring in people who could give him protection. Hunter Biden was among them and a network of corruption grew as a result,” he said.
Kyiv’s former top prosecutor has emerged as a key figure in the investigation into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings and corruption allegations. Shokin’s accusations, if found to be credible, could add clout to calls for a House impeachment inquiry into the president — which could happen as soon as next month.
Shokin claims he was fired from office in 2016 by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “at the insistence of then-Vice President Joe Biden” amid an investigation into Burisma Holdings and Zlochevsky, Shokin told Kilmeade.
Viktor Shokin said he had “no doubt” that Burisma was involved in illegal activities.Fox News
Biden has withheld much-needed aid to Ukraine in exchange for bribes for Shokin’s removal, Shokin believes.
“I don’t want to deal with unproven facts, but my strong personal conviction is, yes, this is the case. They have been bribed. And the fact that Joe Biden gave US $1 billion in exchange for my impeachment, my impeachment, isn’t that just a case of corruption?” he questioned.
Biden publicly claimed credit for forcing Shokin out by threatening to withhold $1 billion in US loan guarantees.
Hunter Biden was on Burisma’s payroll of up to $1 million a year as a member of the company’s board of directors beginning in April 2014.
Shokin was fired in 2016 by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after he claimed Biden forced him out.NurPhoto via Getty Images
Shokin said he had “no doubt” that the liquidated company was involved in illegal activities.
He said the investigation into Burisma was a “normal case” with nothing unusual about it but that it demanded “special attention” given the Biden connection.
“It is on the list of cases to get special attention because Hunter Biden is involved with Burisma and of course, his father, the vice president. Biden at the time was overseeing Ukraine affairs for the White House,” he said.
Shokin said Biden’s business interests led to a “full-scale war” between Ukraine and Russia. AFP via Getty Images
An FBI whistleblower file made public last month revealed that Zlochevsky claimed in 2016 that he was “forced” to pay a $10 million bribe to the president and his son in exchange for Shokin’s removal.
Internal Obama-Biden administration emails purportedly from 2016 published by Just the News this week show that officials were surprised that Biden was pushing for Shokin’s removal as a condition of US aid.
Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, who also joined Burisma’s board in 2014, told the House Oversight Committee last month that Burisma added Hunter to its board so “people would be threatened to screw them over … legally.”
Teresa Kroeger
Archer confirmed that Joe Biden met with Burisma board advisor Vadym Pozharskyi in Washington in 2015, and spoke with Hunter by phone with Pozharskyi and Zlochevsky present at the 2015 meeting in Dubai
Shokin said he was fired because his office “was going to find the facts about the corrupt activities they were doing. That included Hunter Biden and Devin Archer and others.”
Mykola Zlochevsky is the founder and CEO of Burisma.EPA
Joe Biden spoke by phone four times in February and March 2016 with then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and once with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as he pushed for Shokin’s removal.
Shokin’s office won a court order to seize Zlochevsky’s property on February 2, 2016, the Kyiv Post reported at the time. Shokin was fired on March 29.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
