Court reinstates conviction of Hunter Biden’s business partner

by WorldTribune Staff, October 12, 2020

A federal appeals court has reinstated the criminal conviction of Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, for misusing funds from a $60 million bond sale involving the Oglala Sioux tribe.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court decision to grant Archer a new trial in the fraud case. The court reinstated Archer’s original 2018 conviction on securities fraud and conspiracy charges and ordered him to be sentenced.

From left, Devon Archer, an unnamed Ukrainian energy official, Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. / Twitter

The 2018 ruling found that Archer and other defendants had diverted the proceeds of a $60 million bond sale to their own business interests rather than for their intended use.

Hunter Biden was not charged in the scheme, but Biden’s name was “invoked at various stages of the fraud as a selling point in transactions,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

Archer worked with Hunter Biden in various business interests. The pair served as partners at investment firm Rosemont Seneca and as board members at Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.

President Donald Trump ripped Hunter Biden at the first presidential debate in Cleveland last month, alleging Joe Biden’s son “made a fortune” through illicit business dealings overseas while his father was vice president in the Obama administration.

Financial records made public during Archer’s 2018 trial revealed large sums of Chinese and Ukrainian money flowing into Archer’s and Biden’s accounts via a Morgan Stanley account for an entity called Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC (RSB). For example, the RSB financial records revealed that Burisma funneled millions to Archer and Biden in 2014 and 2015. According to Archer’s bank statement, Burisma paid at least $166,666.66 (twin payments of $83,333.33) into Biden and Archer’s joint account each month between May 2014 and October 2015.

Archer’s bank statement released in the trial also revealed that the China state-owned Bank of China directly funneled more than $100,000 into the same account as Burisma beginning in December 2014. Another entity, Novatus Holding Pte. Ltd., wired $142,300 to the Rosemont account on April 22, 2014. That entity is controlled by a Kazakh businessman named Kenges Rakishev who has close ties to the leaders of Kazakhstan.

Many of the financial records revealed during Archer’s 2018 trial became the subject of a joint Senate committee investigation. The GOP-led investigation slammed the Bidens and their associates for apparent conflicts of interest and flagged possible criminal activity while citing “glaring” evidence of Burisma bribes, suspicious foreign money transfers and sex trafficking.”

In addition to Archer’s financial records, the Senate report cited nonpartisan Treasury Department documents called Suspicious Activity Reports, which are generated by financial institutions when transactions appear suspicious or money-laundering is suspected.

“Treasury records acquired by the Chairmen show potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals,” the 87-page Senate report disclosed.


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