Ruslan Ryaboshapka, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, told reporters Friday that Ukrainian prosecutors were conducting an audit into 15 cases conducted by former prosecutors, all of which relate to Mykola Zlochevsky, owner of the gas company Burisma Holdings that hired Hunter Biden in 2014.
“We are reviewing all cases that were closed . . . to make a decision on whether this was illegal,” Ryaboshapka said in a press conference. He did not comment on how many pertained to Hunter Biden directly, and dismissed claims that he was being politically pressured. “Not a single foreign or Ukrainian official or politician has called me or tried to influence my decisions regarding specific criminal cases,” he said.
The cases that involved Burisma were closed in 2016 and centered around tax irregularities, not Hunter Biden’s appointment. At the time, the company announced the investigations were shuttered due to a lack of evidence, and that Zlochevsky was never charged and had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
During a July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky reassured Trump that the new prosecutor would “look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue.” Ryaboshapka was appointed by the Ukrainian president at the end of August.
Last week, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said it was investigating Burisma’s activity from 2010-12, before Hunter Biden’s involvement in the company. Biden joined the company in 2014 and left his board position this past April. Parliamentarians have also said they want to look at the cases, per the Wall Street Journal.