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BBC Pidgin of Friday, 8 December 2023

Source: BBC

Drugs, girlfriends, escorts, tax plus oda accuse America president son dey face

US President Joe Biden son, Hunter US President Joe Biden son, Hunter

US President Joe Biden son, Hunter, dey face one nine-count criminal charge for alleged tax evasion.

Di 56-page charge sheet accuse am say e dodge di payment of $1.4m in taxes from 2016-19 and e fund "extravagant lifestyle".

Most of di accuse dem bring against Hunter wey dey recover from crack cocaine addiction happun wen im father bin dey serve as US vice-president under Barack Obama.

But di current US president no dey accused of wrongdoing, and dem no mention im name for di latest indictment.

Di Yale-educated lawyer dey face up to 17 years in prison if e dey guilty.

Dem sama Hunter Biden wit federal indictment on gun charges for September.

How Hunter Biden earn millions of dollars

Di indictment show how Hunter Biden reap one "substantial income" wey amount to more dan $7m between 2016-20.

Dem pay most of di money to one business accounts e create for im company, Owasco, PC, and dem also allegedly channel am through one company wey di name na Skaneateles, wia e get 75% stake.

Chinese energy: For two years, beginning in late autumn of 2015, Hunter Biden bin dey for one business relationship wit CEFC China Energy, one Chinese energy conglomerate.

For 2017, dem promise to give am $1m from one deal wit CEFC associate, State Energy HK, one Hong Kong business. Hunter Biden bin do business wit a Chinese equity fund.

Burisma: Di president son start to dey work for Ukrainian private energy company Burisma Holdings Limited for April 2014, wit starting annual salary of $1m. In March 2017, dem reduce im salary to around $500,000 per year.

Di document dem take charge am list payments of $1,002,016 for 2016, $630,556 for 2017, $491,939 for 2018, and $160,207 for 2019.

Hunter Biden bein tell BBC say e dey hired to serve on di company board because Burisma bin see im name "as gold".

Romanian businessperson: For autumn of 2015, oga Biden "enter one oral agreement" to help one unnamed "Romanian businessperson… fight one bribery charges e dey face for im home kontri".

For im work between November 2015 to May 2017, he and two oda business associates divide payment of over $3.1m "roughly" between di three of dem.

How Hunter Biden allegedly spend di money

Di indictment say di president son allegedly spend im money on "drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, plus oda items of personal nature, in short, evri tin but im taxes".

Im spending amount to about $1m for 2016, $1.4m for 2017, $1.8m for 2018, and $600,000 for 2019, according to di charge sheet.

Between 2016-19, e withdraw $1.6m from cash machines alone.

For di same period, e spend ova $683,000 on "payments to various women", anoda $188,960 on "adult entertainment", $397,530 on clothing and accessories, and $237,496 on health, beauty and pharmacy, prosecutors tok.

Dem list many of di luxury hotels Hunter Biden bin stay during di years wey e chose to not maintain one particular residence. Most of di hotels dey Los Angeles, New York City and Washington DC.

E use di hotels "for constant partying", prosecutors tok.

Di oda tins e spend money on na to hire Lamborghini, wey e use afta e move go West Coast while waiting for has e dey wait for im Porsche wey dem dey ship come give am.

Payments include $1,500 to one exotic dancer for one strip club, $11,500 for one "escort" wey dem pay "to spend two nights wit am", $27,316 in payments to one online pornography website and $10,000 "to purchase membership for one sex club".

How e allegedly evade taxes

In order to avoid higher tax payments, prosecutors say e claim multiple personal expenses as business deductions.

E claim say di luxury car rentals and hotels na for business purposes, including "travel, transportation plus odas", according to the indictment.

E put academic tutoring for im daughter as "legal professional and consulting" and put payments to escorts and dancers as "office and miscellaneous".

For 2018, e direct one of im personal aide to "put three women wey e get romantic or sexual relationships wit on payroll and healthcare benefit, plus one fourth woman wey dey related to one of those women".

One Arkansas woman wey e get one child wit dey among those e hire.

As e dey under di influence of crack cocaine addiction, e "claim extensive business travel for 2018 wen e no get any".

How prosecutors use im own words against am

Prosecutors say Hunter Biden memoir, Beautiful Things, clearly lay out wetin di indictment allege – say e no get plenty business dealings for 2018 and instead dey spend im money for months on drug and alcohol binges.

Wen e dey work wit California accountants for 2018, e claim expenses, wey include $388,810 in business-related travel, even though e write for im book say di year dey "dominated by crack cocaine use 'twenty-four hours a day, smoking every fifteen minutes, seven days a week'".

Prosecutors say if di accountants bin know about di drug use, dem for pay close attention to "im claims of hundreds of thousands of dollars in business expenses".

From April 2018, and for di next few months, Hunter Biden surround himself wit "thieves, junkies, petty dealers, ova-di-hill strippers, con artists, and assorted hangers-on", e write for im memoir.

Di luxury hotels wey dem mention for di indictment na di "very same hotels wey di Defendant identify, by name, for im memoir as di locations of im months long drug and alcohol binge", court documents tok.

Hunter Biden describe how e stay "for di Sunset Tower, Sixty Beverly Hills, and di Hollywood Roosevelt" and a list of oda California hotels.

E describe im entourage "flashing fake Rolexes" plus "dia stripper girlfriends" dem dey always bring along.

"Dem go drink up di entire minibar, call room service for filet mignon and a bottle of Dom Pérignon," prosecutors note part of di defendant memoir.

Dem point out say di "defendant no write say im do any any business for any of these luxury hotels and e no tok say any of di pipo wey visit am there, come for business purpose".