An informant charged with lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden and his father’s ties to Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings had numerous contacts with Russian intelligence operatives, U.S. prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Alexander Smirnov could use his “extensive foreign ties,” including those to Russian intelligence agencies to “resettle outside of the United States,” prosecutors wrote Tuesday in a federal court filing in Nevada, in pushing for him to be detained. Smirnov was in frequent contact with a Russian government official who manages two groups of individuals who are tasked with carrying out assassinations overseas, according to the filing.

Smirnov was charged with falsely claiming to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2020 that President Joe Biden and his son each accepted $5 million in bribes from Burisma. The government looked into those claims, but then closed its investigation in August.

In its 28-page filing, the government outlined what it described as Smirnov’s extensive and recent contacts with high-ranking Russian officials and detailed how he allegedly pushed false information to FBI investigators about individuals identified in the filing as “Public Official 1” and “Businessperson 1.” While the government didn’t name the individuals, they match the description of the president and his son.

Smirnov allegedly pushed investigators to look into whether “Businessperson 1” had been recorded at the Premier Palace Hotel in Kyiv and claimed that the individual went to the hotel many times, according to the filing. He told the FBI that Russian intelligence intercepted several phone calls placed by prominent U.S. guests at the hotel that may be used as “kompromat” in the 2024 election, according to the government. But investigators determined the information was false because “Businessperson 1” never traveled to Ukraine, according to the filing.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden cited the recent indictment as part of the reason his plea deal in a federal gun case was derailed last year. His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, on Tuesday asked a judge in Delaware to require prosecutors to hand over more information about the plea deal, which fell apart in July.

With assistance from Erik Larson.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.