Morgan Stanley bankers highlighted Hunter Biden’s business dealings as part of an internal presentation warning about a bond scheme involving Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer, according to newly revealed documents.
Archer participated in a bond scheme Morgan Stanley viewed as potentially “suspicious” in spring 2015, and Hunter Biden’s background was presented as evidence of the scheme potentially being fraudulent, according to a Morgan Stanley slide deck first reported by Just the News. (RELATED: DOJ Expects Hunter Biden Indictment By The End Of The Month, Court Filings Say)
READ THE PRESENTATION:
“No clear illegal activity is being accused, but authors of this presentation determined activity was suspicious enough to warrant escalation of review by appropriate internal Compliance representatives,” the presentation says. “Due diligence on involved parties reveals less than clean records.”
Morgan Stanley did not end up bidding for the bonds after a Morgan Stanley advisor representing the bond issuer contacted the company’s municipal trading desk, the slide deck shows.
The presentation has a slide on Hunter Biden where he is listed as a partner at Rosemont Seneca Advisors and a board member of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings alongside Devon Archer. A picture of Hunter Biden sitting next to his father, then-VP Joe Biden, is featured on the right side of the slide. (RELATED: Joe Biden’s Office Colluded With Hunter’s Business Associate On Burisma Inquiries, House Oversight Says)
Morgan Stanley also noted Hunter Biden’s discharge from the Navy for cocaine usage and a New York Times report about two lawsuits filed against Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden for alleged fraud in a hedge fund deal.
A whistleblower included the presentation in a complaint sent by a Morgan Stanley banker to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 1, 2016 about Archer’s participation in the bond scheme and mbloom, a venture capital fund Archer and his investors allegedly used for self-dealing purposes, Just the News first reported.
The whistleblower said Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP) invested $5 million in the mbloom fund. However Hunter Biden’s name does not appear in the partially redacted whistleblower complaint. The SEC and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on Just the News’ report.
The Morgan Stanley presentation lead to an investigation into the bond scheme, Just the News claimed based on documents it reviewed.
Archer was charged in May 2016 for his role in the bond scheme and Biden was subpoenaed in March 2016 for records as part of the investigation, according to emails on his abandoned laptop. Officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC were concerned about emails and payments from Rosemont Seneca Bohai, a holding company run by Biden and Archer, emails from Biden’s laptop indicate.
Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York sentenced Archer to a year and a day in prison in February 2022 for defrauding a Native American tribe and other clients through the $60 million bond scheme. (RELATED: The Biggest Question From Devon Archer’s Testimony Remains Unanswered)
A federal judge ruled in August that Archer can remain free on bail as he appeals the sentence, the New York Post reported. An appellate court rejected his appeal in June, and Archer is currently attempting to bring his case to New York’s Supreme Court.
Archer testified in July to the House Oversight Committee and described how the Biden family “brand” protected Burisma from legal scrutiny and kept the firm in business. Biden was being paid more than $80,000 per month to sit on Burisma’s board, according to bank records released by House Oversight.
Archer also recalled Joe Biden spoke with his son’s business associates on more than 20 occasions, including a spring 2014 dinner with Russian oligarch Elena Baturina and a spring 2015 dinner with Burisma executive Vadim Pozharskyi.
Additionally, Archer told House Oversight about how Hunter Biden “called D.C.” in December 2015 because of pressure from Pozharskyi and Burisma founder, Mykola Zlochevsky. He was unable to confirm whether Joe Biden was on the receiving end of his son’s phone call.
Hunter Biden’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.