Russia’s Putin: Hunter Biden ‘Made Very Good Money in Ukraine’
Russian president refuses to respond to claims Joe Biden received money from Russia
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Russian President Vladamir Putin has spoken out regarding the allegations of corrupt foreign business dealings levied against Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and his family, saying Hunter Biden "made very good money in Ukraine."
Russia's leader made the comments during a new interview with his country's state-run TV network, Rossiya-1, that was aired late on Sunday.
President Putin said the Biden family made "good money" through foreign business deals, but insisted that dealings Joe Biden or his son Hunter “had or might have” in Ukraine have nothing to do with Moscow.
When asked how much money the Biden family had made through deals in Russia, Putin refused to speak on the matter, saying only: "No comment."
“It doesn't concern us,” Putin said when asked to elaborate on Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine.
"It concerns the Americans and the Ukrainians."
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The Russian president said he is aware of “at least one company” Joe Biden’s son “de-facto headed,” adding that Hunter “apparently made very good money” from this endeavor.
Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma Holdings – one of Ukraine’s largest private natural gas producers – in 2014 when his father was still vice president under Barack Obama.
Hunter stayed on the board until his term expired in 2019.
This issue has been raised repeatedly by current President Donald Trump, who has accused Joe Biden of influencing US policy towards Ukraine and even pressuring Kiev into firing the then-Ukrainian prosecutor general to supposedly help his son’s company during a corruption investigation.
Hunter’s business interests in Ukraine – and allegedly in Russia – were once again invoked by Trump during the final presidential debate on Thursday.
Trump claimed that Biden “and his family” were “raking in” a fortune from Ukraine, Russia, and China.
Putin refused to weigh in on claims that the former VP himself was “getting a lot of money from Russia," as insinuated by Trump, responding “no comment” when asked.
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The Russian leader also said he is unaware of any official "commercial relationships" between Hunter Biden and Yelena Baturina, the widow of ex-Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov – another issue raised by Trump during the debate.
Baturina, one of Russia’s richest women, once ran an investment and construction company, and later founded an investment fund.
Hunter Biden allegedly received a $3.5 million payment from Baturina.
The payment was among a slew of other financial transactions and entanglements that federal government officials warned presented conflicts of interest as the former vice president spearheaded the Obama administration's Ukraine policy.
Putin said the businesswoman and billionaire “has had numerous business contacts” but that he does not know if there have been any Americans among them.
As for his own relations with Luzhkov, Putin described them as “respectful” and “trusting” but added that they had always remained strictly official.
