Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky, the Ukrainian oligarch who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden, was “coerced” into sending them money, according to an FBI FD-1023 form released Thursday by Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Zlochevsky and the confidential human source (CHS) allegedly participated in a phone call after the 2016 presidential election, in which Zlochevsky said he was “pushed to pay” the Bidens and did not want to send the money, according to the form. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Worked To Secure US Visa For Ukrainian Oligarch Allegedly Involved In Suspected Bribery Scheme)
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“CHS asked Zlochevsky whether he was concerned about Burisma’s involvement with the Bidens. Zlochevsky stated he didn’t want to pay the Bidens and he was ‘pushed to pay’ them,” the FD-1023 form reads.
“(CHS explained the Russian term Zlochevsky used to explain the payments was ‘poluchili’ (transliterated by the CHS), which literally translates to ‘got it’ or ‘received it,’ but is also used in Russian-criminal-slang for being ‘forced or coerced to pay’,” the form continues.
“CHS then stated, ‘l 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 adds.
“Zlochevsky asked whether it would make any (legal) difference whether he voluntarily made such payments, or if he was ‘forced’ to make them,” the form continues.
The Ukrainian oligarch said he had a total of “17 recordings” involving the Bidens including two featuring Joe Biden, according to the form. The other 15 recordings allegedly only feature Hunter Biden, who served on Burisma’s board beginning in April 2014 until he left the position in 2019.
Ukrainian official Oleksandr Ostapenko originally introduced the CHS to Zlochevsky in a 2016 meeting with Burisma executives in Vienna, Austria, after the CHS went with Ostapenko to a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, in late 2015 or 2016 to give advice about Burisma potentially buying a US-based oil firm and launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the U.S.
CHS was made aware of Hunter Biden’s position on the Burisma board of directors during the initial meeting, where he was told Hunter Biden was hired to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” while Joe Biden was serving as vice president, according to the FBI form. Burisma wanted additional assistance with the U.S. acquisition because they did not believe Hunter Biden was smart, the FBI form continues.
At the Austria meeting, the CHS allegedly told Burisma it would be difficult for the IPO to take place while then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General (PGO) Viktor Shokin was investigating the firm. Zlochevsky told the source, “Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad,” according to the FBI form.
Joe Biden publicly advocated for Shokin’s dismissal and bragged to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in March 2016 about using a $1 billion loan guarantee as leverage to get Shokin fired. Biden made similar comments about Shokin being fired at a CFR event in January 2018, when Biden was out of office.
In the alleged phone call after the 2016 election, Zlochevsky talked to the CHS about Shokin being fired and how no investigations into Burisma were taking place, according to the FBI form.
“Zlochevsky stated Shokin had already been fired, and no investigation was currently going on, and that nobody would find out about his financial dealings with the Bidens,” the form reads.
The CHS and Zlochevsky did not speak again until a 2019 telephone call when he was meeting in London with Ostapenko about business matters unrelated to Burisma, according to the FBI form. Ostapenko called Zlochevsky and the Ukrainian oligarch told the CHS how he would conceal his alleged payments to the Bidens, the form continues.
“Zlochevsky responded he did not send any funds directly to the ‘Big Guy’ (which CHS understood was a reference to Joe Biden). CHS asked Zlochevsky how many companies/bank accounts Zlochevsky controls; Zlochevsky responded it would take them (investigators) 10 years to find the records (i.e. illicit payments to Joe Biden),” the FBI form reads.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) later charged Zlochevsky for attempting to send $6 million in bribes to shut down an investigation into Burisma, the Kyiv Post reported in January 2021.
The NABU opened an investigation after the previous cases against Zlochevsky and Burisma were dismissed by Ukrainian and British courts, in part because of alleged corruption by Ukrainian prosecutors. All of the investigations into Zlochevsky and Burisma were closed in 2021 and will not be reopened, the Ukrainian PGO said.