Ukrainian officials were allegedly offered $6 million in bribes to end a probe into the founder of Burisma – the energy company which once had Hunter Biden on its board.
Artem Sytnyk, head of Ukraine‘s national anti-corruption bureau (NABU), said three people had been detained, including one current and former tax official, over the bribe offer.
All are linked to former ecology minister Mykola Zlochevsky, who founded Burisma and has been living in exile amid a state probe of an embezzlement plot.
Officials said the bribery case has no connection to former board member Hunter Biden, the son of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The money was the largest cash bribe ever seized in Ukraine, NABU said.
Huge see-through plastic bags containing thousands of $100 bills were put on display during a press briefing in Kiev on Saturday.
Burisma said in a statement it had nothing to do with the matter. The company’s founder Mykola Zlochevsky, a former ecology minister is now living abroad in exile
Ukrainian officials were offered $6 million in bribes to end a probe into energy company Burisma’s founder, but said there was no connection to former board member Hunter Biden (left) whose father Joe Biden (right) is running for the US presidency
Authorities put on display the seized cash at a press conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday
The bribe was allegedly related to a case of embezzling state money given to a bank, officials said.
Some $5 million was offered to anti-corruption officials and a further $1 million was intended for an official acting as a middleman, Sytnyk said.
The suspects were in a hurry to pay the bribe because they wanted to end the case against Zlochevsky in time for his birthday on Sunday, ‘to close the criminal proceedings and ensure the return of Mr. Zlochevsky to Ukraine,’ he said.
Police officers are seen holding stacks of $100 bills inside clear plastic bags during briefing 
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Artem Sytnyk, head of Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau (NABU), said three people had been detained, including one current and former tax official, over the bribe offer. The seizure is the largest in Ukraine’s history
Burisma said in a statement it had nothing to do with the matter.
It did not respond to a request for comment from Zlochevsky.
‘Let’s put an end to this once and for all. Biden Jr. and Biden Sr. do not appear in this particular proceeding,’ Nazar Kholodnytsky, head of anti-corruption investigations at the prosecution service, told Saturday’s briefing.