Largest share of foreign payments went to Biden associates, not kin, House GOP memos show

Announcing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Sept. 12, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said a Republican-led investigation had already uncovered evidence of a Biden family "culture of corruption."

Central in the yearslong investigation into Biden family members’ and associates’ business dealings are allegations they received millions of dollars in payments from foreign sources.

"We know the bank records show that nearly $20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates through various shell companies," McCarthy, R-Calif., said during his U.S. Capitol press conference.

The impeachment inquiry, McCarthy said, would empower House committees to gather more evidence.

I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption. https://t.co/3uoDlUB3Sy

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 12, 2023

McCarthy’s claim aligns with memos of bank records released by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating Biden family business dealings. The most recent memo, from Aug. 9, said the House Oversight Committee had "identified over $20 million from foreign sources that benefitted the Biden family and their business associates."

PolitiFact analyzed this memo, along with two previously released memos. 

Together, the convoluted, sometimes repetitive, maze of financial records largely supports McCarthy’s carefully phrased claim that "$20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates." But his word choice as he announced an impeachment inquiry into the president could give the impression that Biden family members, or even Joe Biden himself, received an equal share of the financial gains. That’s not what bank records PolitiFact has reviewed show.

The lion’s share of the $20 million went to Biden family business associates; about $5 million went to Biden family members. The records show no evidence that any payments went to Joe Biden, who was vice president when some of the payments occurred. The records also do not reveal that Joe Biden engaged in wrongdoing.

McCarthy did not respond to PolitiFact’s request for comment.

Financial records made public between March 16 and Aug. 9 show details of an intricate web of about $19.3 million in payments from foreign sources that were directed to the Bidens’ associates and at least three Biden family members. 

The memos that detail these payments don’t provide evidence that Joe Biden took any official actions because of his family’s business dealings.

The memos show that about $14.4 million in payments were made to "associates" of the Biden family or accounts associated with those individuals. These payments went largely to Hunter Biden business partners: Devon Archer, James Gilliar, Vuk Jeremić and John Robinson Walker.

Other Republicans have echoed this talking point, without McCarthy’s careful phrasing. On Sept. 17, former Vice President Mike Pence, who's running for the Republican presidential nomination, told Fox News that when Joe Biden was vice president, his "family accepted some $20 million, which is a hard fact."

These payments to associates originated from companies including Burisma, Bladon Enterprises, State Energy HK and, in one instance, from Yelena Baturina, a wealthy Russian whose name has also been spelled "Elena."

Baturina wired $3.5 million to a bank account linked to Hunter Biden and Archer, according to the memos. Republicans alleged some of this money went directly to Hunter Biden, but Archer testified the money was for an unrelated real estate transaction and did not go directly to Hunter Biden. Given this information, we counted it as a payment to an associate; we will update if more evidence comes to light.

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's former business partner, arrives on Capitol Hill July 31, 2023, to give closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee. (AP)

From 2014 to 2020, Biden family members received about $4.94 million from sources with ties to Ukraine, Romania, China and Kazakhstan. The memos show these payments went to: 

• Hunter Biden, the president’s son;

• James Biden, the president’s brother;

• Hallie Biden, the wife of Joe Biden’s late son Beau, who also had a relationship with Hunter after Beau’s passing; 

• And an unknown account the memo characterized as a "Biden" account without explanation.

In many instances, payments to Biden family members were sent by wire to Robinson Walker LLC, a company owned by an associate of Hunter Biden, before they were sent to Biden family accounts.

By PolitFact’s count, about 89% of the money Biden family members received in payments — approximately $4.4 million — went to Hunter Biden or his businesses. 

Of the $4.4 million, Hunter Biden and companies he was linked to received: 

• $2.6 million for his work on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

• About $949,000 that originated from Bladon Enterprises, a company linked to Gabriel Popoviciu, according to the memos. Popoviciu is a Romanian businessman who was convicted in Romania on criminal corruption charges.

• $700,000 that originated from State Energy HK Ltd. and CEFC Infrastructure, two Chinese companies.

• And $142,300 that came from Kazakhstani millionaire Kenes Rakishev's Singapore-based company, and was used to buy Hunter Biden a sports car.

A company linked to James Biden received more than $350,000 that originated with State Energy HK. Hallie Biden received two payments totaling $35,000, which the memos said originated from State Energy HK and Bladon Enterprises.

Several payments totaling $150,000 went to the unspecified "Biden" account. The memos said that money originated with State Energy HK and Bladon Enterprises.

For more than four years, Republicans have been investigating the Biden family’s financial links to foreign nationals and foreign governments. Shortly after learning they had won a narrow majority in the House in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee announced that investigating the president and his family’s business deals would be a top priority.

White House spokesperson Ian Sams said on X, formerly Twitter, that Republicans have "turned up no evidence of wrongdoing" after investigating President Biden for nine months. 

Hunter Biden remains under federal investigation for his taxes. On Sept. 14, he was indicted on one count of possession of a firearm he obtained after lying about his drug use and two counts of making false statements about his illegal drug use on a form when buying the gun.

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Hunter Biden speaks to guests during the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 18, 2022, in Washington. (AP)

McCarthy described the payments to Biden associates and family members as having flowed through "shell companies."

A shell company is "a corporate entity set-up that generally has no business operations," said David P. Weber, a professor in the accounting and legal studies department at Salisbury University's Perdue School of Business. Weber previously served as chief investigator for the Securities and Exchange Commission and as special counsel for enforcement with the U.S. Treasury Department. 

Generally speaking, Weber said, "shell companies are entities formed in a jurisdiction that requires minimal documentation over who the beneficial owner is, have no active business operations or employees, and are formed for secrecy or privacy purposes."

In the popular understanding, shell companies usually have a negative connotation, often for good reasons, experts say.

Sometimes, shell companies can be created for legitimate purposes, experts said. For instance, they can keep income streams separate if they are to be taxed or regulated in separate jurisdictions, said Daniel Shaviro, a taxation professor at New York University Law School. Weber said he’s seen examples in which gay couples have used shell companies to hide the joint ownership of homes in countries where LGBTQ+ couples are persecuted.

More often, though, a true "shell company" is a red flag for financial investigators, experts said. 

"Most shell companies are formed for illegitimate purposes, such as tax evasion, money laundering, other illegal activities," Weber said.

It’s not clear whether companies in the Hunter Biden case qualify as shell companies.

In analyzing the 21 companies cited in a GOP memo that were founded by, in partnership with, or linked to Hunter Biden, the Washington Post Fact Checker concluded that "virtually all of the companies (many of which now are defunct) had legitimate business interests. Others had clearly identified business investments."

For instance, the Fact Checker found entities such as separate companies founded by Hunter Biden that handled legal and lobbying work, the latter of which was disclosed as required under federal law. Rosemont Seneca Partners and several offshoots were vehicles for investments Biden and his associates made in technology, energy and entertainment ventures. 

A Republican memo described the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development — a Biden family associate’s account, which received $3 million from the Chinese company State Energy HK — as "a public policy think tank registered in Belgrade and New York."

Two entities, Hudson West III and Hudson West IV, had an energy investment deal with CEFC China Energy. Comer has criticized this effort as "a scheme to try to get China to buy liquefied natural gas," which could be viewed as a tacit acknowledgement that the companies were engaged in actual business pursuits rather than serving as shell companies.

"A company that has legitimate business interests or operations is not generally considered a shell company," Weber said. "It would be considered a real, operating business. Active, operating businesses with employees, physical location, or business interests" would generally not "fall into the definition of a shell company."

This explains the term’s potency: It includes a clear suggestion of shadiness. But Shaviro said that if the companies do have legitimate business interests and investments, then the Republicans’ use of the term "shell companies" is "inaccurate" and "contrary to its generally accepted meaning."

McCarthy said "bank records show that nearly $20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates through various shell companies."

Financial records released by House Republicans show a little less than $20 million in payments, but $14 million went to associates, while $5 million went to Biden family members, including Hunter. 

However, McCarthy was citing the $20 million in payments in support of an impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden, and the bank records contain neither evidence that foreign payments went to Joe Biden himself, nor evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear that the phrase "shell companies," which connotes illegitimate purposes, accurately describes the corporate entities through which the money flowed. Many of the companies in question appear to have had tangible business and investment purposes, which would not fit the commonly used definition of shell companies.

The statement is partially accurate but takes things out of context. We rate it Half True.

PolitiFact staff writers Jeff Cercone and Amy Sherman contributed to this report.

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