Hunter Biden was once tied up in an eyebrow-raising proposal to sell off land around the US embassy in Romania to a group that included a Chinese company — as part of an effort to help a Romanian real estate tycoon beat corruption charges.
The scandal-scarred former first son — whose ties to Romania date back to when his father, Joe Biden, was vice-president — became involved in the proposal after he agreed in 2015 to help Romanian developer, Gabriel Popoviciu, fight criminal charges, the New York Times reported.
The deal, which came about after Biden had already left office, was floated in an apparent attempt to convince Romanian prosecutors to drop the real estate fraud case against Popoviciu.
It centered on Popoviciu potentially handing over a significant portion of his land ownership around the embassy to CEFC China Energy — a Chinese firm that Hunter had dealings with.
Under one apparent deal structure, CEFC would own as much as 47.5% of the joint venture, according to the outlet.
In an effort to sway prosecutors, it was suggested that the Romanian government could go on to collect revenue from the arrangement.
Hunter acknowledged being involved in the potential deal in multiple ways — including as Popoviciu’s attorney and as part of the “purchasing group.”
The deal ended up folding in 2017 as Hunter and his partners battled it out.
At one point, Biden’s son had declared in a message to the others involved: “I’m the only one putting an entire family legacy on the line.”
Popoviciu, meanwhile, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017 after being convicted of real estate fraud.
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