Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky has been identified as the foreign national who revealed a pay-for-play scheme in which the Biden family was allegedly paid $10 million in bribes, according to a bombshell report from The Federalist citing a credible source familiar with the investigation. It is unknown if any steps were taken by the FBI upon learning of the allegations. The bureau has repeatedly been accused of “stonewalling” the release of evidence pertaining to the case.
The latest report comes after Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed that a foreign national — who sources familiar with the matter have identified as Zlochevsky — allegedly possessed 17 audio recordings detailing a quid pro quo agreement with the Biden family. In total, 15 of the recordings are of conversations between Zlochevsky and Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma despite a severe lack of qualifications.
Two of the recordings were calls between Zlochevsky and then-Vice President Biden, according to the FD-1023 form.
The FD-1023 form — which was compiled by a highly credible FBI confidential human source — further alleges that the Burisma executive was “coerced” into paying the bribes, The Federalist reported.
The confidential human source summarized earlier meetings he had with Zlochevsky in the form, which was compiled on June 30, 2020. The source, who was offering advice to Zlochevsky around 2015-16, warned him to stay away from the Biden family. Then, after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, the source asked the Burisma executive if Trump’s victory made him upset.
Zlochevsky reportedly told the source that he was extremely worried that Trump would open an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealing and reveal his payments to the Biden family, which included a $5 million payment to Hunter Biden and a $5 million payment to Joe Biden, The Federalist reported.
The Burisma executive expressed frustration with the situation, reportedly saying that he was “coerced” into making the payments.
The source then asked Zlochevsky if he had taken precautions to protect himself. He then allegedly detailed precautions he had taken, stressing that he had never paid the “Big Guy” directly and that it would take “10 years” to uncover the money trails.
At that point, Zlochevsky revealed that he was in possession of the 17 audio recordings as an “insurance policy.”
The Bidens ‘Coerced’ Burisma To Pay $10 Million In Bribes, Says Credible FBI Source https://t.co/3kfVI31P5x
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 15, 2023
According to individuals familiar with the investigation and multiple members of Congress, the confidential human source’s information was unrelated to the information Rudy Giuliani had provided the Western District of Pennsylvania’s U.S. attorney’s office in 2019. Then-Attorney General Bill Barr had tasked the office with investigating any new information relating to Ukraine at the time.
The Federalist reported that sources out of the Pittsburgh FBI office searched internal FBI databases and came across an earlier FD-1023 related to the confidential human source. Agents then questioned the source on June 20, 2020, and uncovered the details of the Burisma-Biden bribery scandal.