Hunter Biden made millions from overseas business deals, according to the analysis of the first son's infamous laptop by NBC News. Hunter Biden raked in the most money from Chinese business dealings. However, President Joe Biden previously said that his son did not make any money in China.
The NBC News report stated, "From 2013 through 2018 Hunter Biden and his company brought in about $11 million via his roles as an attorney and a board member with a Ukrainian firm accused of bribery and his work with a Chinese businessman now accused of fraud."
Of the $11 million that Biden made in the 5-year span, $5.8 million was attained from two business deals with Chinese entities.
"The documents and the analysis, which don’t show what he did to earn millions from his Chinese partners, raise questions about national security, business ethics, and potential legal exposure," NBC News reported.
The findings regarding Hunter's finances were derived from a copy of Biden’s hard drive, his iCloud account, and an 87-page report titled "Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns" released by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in September 2020.
Hunter Biden's business deals in China
The analysis found that Hunter's most lucrative deal involved a Chinese businessman who is now believed to be detained in China, according to NBC News.
“According to business records referred to in the Senate report, Hudson West III, a venture funded by the Chinese oil and natural gas company CEFC and its chairman, Ye Jianming, paid $4,790,375.25 to Owasco P.C. over about one year.”
Owasco P.C. was controlled by Hunter Biden, according to filings in Washington, D.C.
In 2018, Ye Jianming was accused of “economic crimes” by Chinese prosecutors. He has not been seen in public since he was detained for questioning on accusations of fraud and bribery.
Ye Jianming is the former chairman of the China Energy Fund Committee. He is rumored to have ties to China's People's Liberation Army. A 2018 Financial Times report linked him to Chinese military intelligence.
"Ye's company, CEFC China Energy, aligned itself so closely with the Chinese government that it was often hard to distinguish between the two," CNN reported in 2018.
Chi Ping Patrick Ho – an associate of Ye Jianming and a top executive for CEFC – reportedly wired a $1 million payment to Owasco P.C. that was listed as “Dr Patrick Ho Chi Ping Representation.”
In March 2019, Patrick Ho was sentenced to three years in prison for international bribery and money laundering.
The New York Post reported in October 2020 that Patrick Ho had been in the process of brokering a partnership between the multibillion-dollar energy company and a business group involving Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden.
Joe Biden denied his son's profitable Chinese ventures
However, Joe Biden previously declared that his son had not made money from China during a 2020 presidential debate with Donald Trump.
"My son has not made money in terms of, this thing about, what are you talking about, China," Biden stated.
After being elected, Biden's White House doubled down on the assertion that Hunter did not receive money from China.
In March, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield was asked about the damning New York Times report that declared that emails from Hunter's abandoned laptop were authentic.
“We absolutely stand by the president’s comment,” Bedingfield responded. “And I would point you to the reporting on this, which referenced statements that we made at the time, that we gave to the Washington Post, who worked on this story. But as you know, I don’t speak for Hunter Biden so there’s not more I can say on that.”
Joe Biden in 2020 insisted Hunter \u201chas not made money\u201d from China.\n\nHunter actually made millions, starting when Joe was VP. Joe Biden lied.pic.twitter.com/nL03U21ysX
— Tommy Pigott (@Tommy Pigott) 1652966638
Hunter Biden's Ukrainian connections
The NBC News report also mentions Hunter's position on the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
"Biden’s addition to the company’s board as head of legal affairs was reported in a news release in May 2014," the outlet stated. "At some point from May to December 2014, Burisma allegedly paid a bribe to a Ukrainian official to help stop a joint British/U.S. money-laundering investigation into Burisma’s top executive, according to a State Department email that quotes a Ukrainian prosecutor."
The New York Post previously reported, "In 2016, Hunter’s total income from Burisma was $999,996. In 2017 it dropped to $665,000, and then $498,000 in 2018."
Hunter Biden blows through fast money
The analysis of his laptop hard drive showed that Hunter spent his money faster than he earned it.
"Expenditures compiled on his hard drive show he spent more than $200,000 per month from October 2017 through February 2018 on luxury hotel rooms, Porsche payments, dental work, and cash withdrawals," according to NBC News. "Biden has admitted to burning through cash to pay for drugs and partying with strangers who routinely stole from him, and he struggled to pay multiple mortgages or keep up with alimony and child support payments to his ex-wife."
In his divorce filing from February 2017, the attorney for his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, claimed, "Throughout the parties' separation, Mr. Biden has created financial concerns for the family by spending extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations) while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills."
Hunter Biden may have been a national security risk
Frank Figliuzzi – the FBI’s former assistant director for counterintelligence – warned that Hunter Biden could be a national security risk.
"It’s all about access and influence, and if you can compromise someone with both access and influence, that’s even better," Figliuzzi told NBC News – where he is a contributor. “Better still if that target has already compromised himself.”
Walter Shaub –a former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics during the Obama administration – blasted Biden, "No government ethics rules apply to him.”
Hunter Biden's defense attorney Christppher Clark declined to give NBC News a comment on the analysis of his client's laptop.