(NewsNation) — A former FBI informant has been indicted for allegedly lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings with a Ukrainian energy company.
Charging documents describe Alexander Smirnov, 43, as a former FBI confidential human source and say he provided “false and derogatory information” to federal agents about both Bidens in 2020.
In June 2020, Smirnov falsely told FBI agents that executives with Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid $5 million each to Hunter and Joe Biden in 2015 and 2016, the indictment alleges.
Smirnov lied to the FBI when he told authorities that a Burisma executive had claimed to have hired Hunter Biden to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” prosecutors said.
He also lied when he told the FBI that a Burisma official said he was “pushed to pay” the Bidens, according to the indictment.
The 43-year-old is charged with making a false statement to a government agent and falsifying records.
Smirnov was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday after arriving back in the country from overseas.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
This is a developing story.