Hunter Biden Resigns From Chinese Firm Following Trump Attacks, Ukraine Call Scandal

Robert Hunter Biden, second son of former vice president Joe Biden being attacked by president Donald Trump on corruption charges, has resigned as a director of the Chinese-backed private equity firm he co-founded in 2013.

Citing "the barrage of false charges" by Trump, the younger Biden on Sunday announced his resignation from the Board of Directors of BHR Equity Investment Fund Management Company by the end of this October. He also said he hasn’t discussed his own business activities with his father, according to his lawyer, George Mesires.

In a statement posted by Mesires on behalf of the younger Biden, Hunter also pledged to forgo any foreign work after the allegations by Trump accusing him of corruption in both the Ukraine and China. The Ukrainian government has said it had never investigated Biden for corruption, nor is there proof of any corruption when he sat as a director of Burisma Holdings, a major Ukrainian natural gas producer, from 2014 to 2019.

As for BHR, Biden co-founded this firm with longtime friend, Devon Archer, and Chinese businessman Jonathan Li. This firm focused on investing Chinese capital in companies based outside China.

Hunter didn't own any equity in BHR while his father was vice president. He only served as a member of its board of directors. It was an unpaid position.

In September, Trump claimed Biden "walk(ed) out of China with $1.5 billion in a fund" and earned "millions" of dollars from the BHR deal.

“Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests,” said Mesires.

“In any event, Hunter will agree not to serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies.”

Mesires also said Hunter always understood his father will be guided, entirely and unequivocally, by established U.S. policy, irrespective of its effects on Hunter’s professional interests.

"When Hunter engaged in his business pursuits, he believed that he was acting appropriately and in good faith. He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the president of the United States.”

Mesires also explained fighting corruption in Burisma was a priority for Biden. Burisma adopted standards and practices traditionally employed by Western companies to foster transparency and eliminate corruption.

Burisma’s stated commitment to corporate best practices, which Biden championed, meant it was able to attract well-qualified board members, including the former president of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, known for his fight against corruption. It was Kwasniewski who recommended Hunter join the board.

Hunter joined the Burisma board as a non-executive director. This meant he was an independent board member and not a member of the management team. Hunter was compensated for his board service.

He resigned from Bursima’s board in April 2019. Mesires said that despite extensive scrutiny, "at no time has any law enforcement agency, either domestic or foreign, allege that Hunter engaged in wrongdoing at any point during his five-year term."