[MAIL] Russia's richest woman Yelena Baturina has refused to discuss her alleged payment of $3.5 million to Joe Biden's son Hunter.But her brother, Viktor Baturin, 63, has told DailyMail.com the money was 'a payment to enter the American market.'
Joe Biden was the vice president when Baturina wired the money in a series of payments to a bank account held by Hunter's investment firm Rosemont Seneca Thornton in 2014, according to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The following year, she opened up an office in the US to oversee her investments in America. In 2016, she launched her first development project, investing $10 million in commercial buildings next to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The ultra-wealthy 57-year-old has long been dogged by corruption allegations, stemming from when her late husband, who was the mayor of Moscow, awarded her with lucrative government business contracts, helping her grow the business.
The suspicion the money was given to Hunter in order to influence Joe has been a battle cry of corruption for Republicans, as it would be considered illegal to try to influence a public official into creating policies that would favor Hunter's interests.
President Trump referenced the alleged payment during the first presidential debate, but Joe Biden flatly denied his 50-year-old son had received the Russian's money.
Baturina, whose estimated fortune is around $1.3 billion, told DailyMail.com she was 'not interested' in explaining an alleged consultancy fee. Hunter's lawyer denied he received $3.5 million from Baturina, claiming he wasn't a co-founder of the investment firm.
But now, in a bizarre twist, her brother Viktor claimed 'it was a payment to enter the American market' while also suggesting she may have been 'set up' into making a payment.
Why do Russian women age 40 or older look amazingly like Sergei Skripal. G(r)om, Bueller anyone ?