Mr. Hunter Biden (center), son of President Joe Biden
Reuters on February 16 quoted special prosecutor David Weiss as saying that a person who provided information to the FBI was accused of lying about President Joe Biden and his son's involvement in business transactions with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
In the statement, Mr. Weiss said the subject Alexander Smirnov (43 years old) was prosecuted for perjury and "creating a false and fictitious dossier" related to the FBI investigation.
Burisma and the role of Hunter Biden, the US President’s son, have come under scrutiny following unproven claims from former President Donald Trump and others that President Biden wrongly sought to help his son’s business in Ukraine. The White House has denied the allegations.
Mr. Smirnov was arrested on February 14 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (Nevada state) after returning from abroad.
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The indictment appears to deal a blow to Republican allegations that the US president profited from his son's business in Ukraine.
Hunter Biden served on Burisma's board of directors from 2014 to 2019, during which time his father served as US Vice President under former President Barack Obama.
Mr Smirnov has claimed that he spoke to Burisma's owners in 2017 about the company's efforts to acquire an American company.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Smirnov made false statements in recounting two meetings in 2015 or 2016 in which Burisma executives told him they had hired Mr. Hunter Biden to “protect us, through his father, from all kinds of problems.”
The indictment added that Mr. Smirnov also falsely claimed that Burisma executives paid Mr. Joe Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each so that Mr. Biden “would resolve all those issues through his father.”
Mr. Smirnov faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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