Mervyn Yan, an investment consultant who paired up in a business venture with Hunter Biden after a 15-minute meeting in Manhattan, paid the president’s son and brother millions of dollars in 2017 to help Chinese energy firm CEFC break into the U.S. energy market, even though he did not know what either man did to earn the compensation.
Mr. Yan told House investigators he went into business with Hunter Biden for “the transactions” and was seeking to help CEFC gain a foothold in the U.S. energy market, according to a transcript of the interview that was reviewed by The Washington Times.
“I don’t know if he had the knowledge,” Mr. Yan told investigators. “That was the first time I met him, so I don’t know what his background is.”
Mr. Yan nonetheless paid Hunter Biden $100,000 per month and James Biden $65,000 per month for their involvement in the venture. Mr. Yan later issued a credit card to James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, although she had no official role in the venture and he did not know what she purchased with the card.
Mr. Yan paid James and Hunter Biden via wire transfers from Hudson West III, a company Hunter Biden and Mr. Yan jointly formed after their 2017 meeting. The business pursued five energy deals but all of them fell through, according to Mr. Yan.
Hunter Biden had been working with CEFC before his joint venture with Mr. Yan. Mr. Yan transferred an additional $1 million to Hunter Biden for his services as a criminal defense lawyer for CEFC executive Patrick Ho, who was convicted of bribing African government officials.
House lawmakers deposed Mr. Yan privately on Jan. 25 as part of the investigation into Mr. Biden’s role in his family’s lucrative business deals and potential influence peddling.
Investigators will interview James Biden on Feb. 21 and Hunter Biden on Feb. 28, both behind closed doors.
Democrats who participated in the Yan deposition said the interview exonerated the president, who has long denied profiting off his family’s business deals.
“Mervyn Yan testified to the Committee … that he has no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden and that, to his knowledge, President Biden was not involved in, did not profit from, and took no official actions in relation to his family’s business dealings,” they said.
Republicans have produced witness testimony and bank account records connecting business deals to Mr. Biden, including two checks.
In July 2017, after Mr. Biden’s second term as vice president ended and before his 2020 presidential campaign began, Hunter Biden demanded Raymond Zhao, a CEFC associate, send $10 million for the startup of a business venture. He threatened Mr. Zhao on a WhatsApp message, warning his father was sitting next to him and suggested he would use his powerful position to seek retribution if the money did not arrive.
A few days later, Mr. Zhao sent $5 million through a CEFC affiliate. Some of the money was transferred into Hunter Biden’s law firm, then into Lion Hall Group, an entity owned by James Biden. James and Sara Biden shifted some of that money into their personal bank account and then wrote a $40,000 check to Joe Biden labeled as a loan repayment.
Witness testimony and court documents show James and Hunter Biden have long used their relationship with President Biden to help secure extremely profitable business deals.
House lawmakers recently interviewed Americore trustee Carol Fox, who sued James Biden to recover money paid to him. She confirmed the company wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account. On the same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from the account to Joe Biden labeled a loan repayment.
James Biden was sued in 2022 by Americore Health LLC, which partnered with him in 2019 specifically to help expand the business through his political connections.
According to court documents and House investigators, James Biden promised to provide “access to a future Biden administration and the highest levels of government … and that his brother, Joe Biden, had been made aware of the business, which would be made profitable when it could become part of the Biden platform.”
The congressional investigators said a witness in the lawsuit stated that James Biden, in phone conversations with Americore executives, would “explain that Joe Biden was in the room with him and James had been explaining the deal to him.”
Americore charged in court that James Biden never delivered on his promise to bring in large investments from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where he allegedly developed relationships during his brother’s time as vice president.
The company said James Biden failed to repay the $600,000 loan they provided him at his request. James Biden settled with Americore for $350,000.
Lawmakers asked Ms. Fox if her investigation discovered any services James Biden provided to Americore.
“Well, that’s why I sued him,” she said. “I did not think that he provided services to the debtors. No.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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