The Bidens are alleged to have coerced a Ukrainian businessman into paying them $10 million in bribes, according to an FBI informant who worked on the agency’s investigation into the handling of the FD-1023 file. 

According to the informant, Mykola Zlochevsky, the founder of Burisma, claims to have 17 recordings of conversations including himself along with Joe and Hunter Biden.  

Sen. Chuck Grassley revealed on the Senate floor that Mykola Zlochevsky was the foreign national both Bidens coerced to get the $10 million in bribes. Reportedly, Zlochevsky retained 17 copies of recordings detailing the discussions he had with them. 

While 15 of the recordings detail discord between Hunter Biden and Zlochevsky, at least two of the phone calls were directly with then-Vice President Biden (referred to as the “big guy”). 

Grassley said Zlochevsky kept the recordings a sort of insurance policy, in case the scandals of the Bidens began bearing down on him. 

The Iowa lawmaker also noted that Biden’s connections to Zlochevsky may have resulted in Burisma hiring Hunter Biden onto the board of his company. 

House Republicans said the overall bribery scheme is connected to Biden having prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired to prevent an investigation into Hunter’s Ukrainian business dealings.  

The Washington Examiner previously reported that Zlochevsky discussed the bribes individually with both Bidens, each getting a sum of $5 million, according to the FBI informant.  

FBI Director Christopher Wray responded to the increasing pressure put on him by Rep. James Comer (R-KY) for not compiling with the subpoena by allowing congressional members to view FD-1023. 

However, the copy given to members of the House Oversight Committee contained significant redactions. 

A $5 million bribe was allegedly made available to Ukrainian officials in June 2020. This was made in exchange for halting judicial inquiries into Burisma and permitting Zlochevsky, who was currently residing overseas, to return to Ukraine.