As was widely reported, The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, (“the Committee”), published its August 9th memo about Hunter Biden and some other Biden family members. On the one hand, House Republicans on the Committee allege President Biden, Hunter Biden and some other Biden family members participated in an influence peddling scheme. On the other hand, House Democrats allege President Biden has never done anything wrong. However, as set forth below, there could be money laundering indicators in this case, especially with respect to Hunter Biden.
A) WHAT HOUSE REPUBLICANS ALLEGE
At the Committee’s August 9th & / or its earlier materials, House Republicans essentially allege the following. First, years ago foreign actors from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan supposedly paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to some Biden family members. Second, foreign actors may have made the supposed bribe payments because they thought Joe Biden would do them favors during his vice presidency. Third, Hunter Biden and some of his business associates might have concealed these payments by transferring them into shell companies. Fourth, page 28 of the Committee’s May 10th memo suggests one alleged bribe payment could have been a 2.8 carat diamond worth about $80,000, which a foreign actor gave to Hunter Biden.
B) COUNTERARGUMENTS BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS
House Democrats basically claim Congressional Republicans have not supplied evidence showing President Joe Biden participated in a corruption scheme. ‘Instead, they rehash the same Hunter Biden business dealings that Congressional Republicans identified at least three years ago,’ the ranking Democrat on the Committee Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said. Rep. Raskin’s quote is mentioned by the August 9, 2023 ABC News article House GOP releases new memo on Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, reviving old claims. Additionally, this article points out that President Joe Biden has denied he was involved in Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
C) COULD HUNTER BIDEN HAVE ENGAGED IN MONEY LAUNDERING?
Assuming, arguendo, some of President Biden’s family members participated in a corruption scheme, then money laundering must be considered. People facilitate laundering schemes to hide their true beneficial ownership of money. Furthermore, when people launder money, there are usually red flags. Speaking hypothetically, the money laundering red flags concerning Hunter Biden and possibly other Biden family members could be:
- Politically Exposed Person(s)— are individuals more susceptible to bribery because of their position or influence. Close business associates and relatives of these individuals are also considered politically exposed persons. Under this definition, President Biden’s son Hunter and other close relatives are politically exposed persons.
- Shell Companies—in some places, a money launderer can form a shell company without disclosing who its shareholders, officers and directors are. The launderer might use the shell company to open bank accounts and then hide money there. Meanwhile, some Biden family members and / or their associates allegedly formed to 20 shell companies.
- Multiple jurisdictions—you can launder money by transferring it through multiple jurisdictions / across international borders. This makes the money harder to track. In this case, Hunter Biden and others could have received payments transferred to the U.S. from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan.
- Portable Valuable Commodities—to obscure beneficial ownership, a money launderer can convert cash into diamonds, jewelry, precious metals, etc. These portable valuable commodities are relatively easy to smuggle across international borders. As mentioned above, a foreign actor my have given Hunter Biden a 2.8 carat diamond, possibly as a bribe payment.
Copyright 2023 Fred L. Abrams