Ukraine: US$6M bribe to close case against gas head

Ukrainian authorities say they have intercepted a US$6 million bribe attempt aimed at dropping a criminal investigation against the head of a natural gas company where former US Vice President Joe Biden's son once held a board seat.

At a Saturday news conference, where the alleged cash bribe was displayed in plastic bags, Ukraine's anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar Kholodnitsky said neither of the Bidens was connected to the bribe attempt.

Kholodnitsky and the head of the national anti-corruption bureau Artem Sytnik said the bribe was intended to encourage their offices to close down an investigation by Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of the Burisma natural gas company and a former minister of ecology.

Zlochevsky is suspected of using his ministerial position to enrich his gas company.

Burisma, one of the country's largest private gas producers, has been at the center of politically tinged allegations in the United States, where Joe Biden is the main challenger to President Donald Trump in this year's election.

Biden's son Hunter joined the Burisma board in 2014, when his father was still vice president and the main figure of US relations with Ukraine. He left the board in 2018.

Last year, Trump pressured new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to to investigate the Bidens in a phone call that triggered his impeachment.

Former Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin has alleged he was pushed out by pressure from Biden, by delaying a US$1 billion loan to the country,  in order to halt an investigation into the son's role at Burisma.

But Biden says he pushed for Shokin's dismissal to encourage Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts.

Three people, including a high-ranking tax service official, have been detained in connection with the attempted bribe.

(Representative Image)