Cravath Reveals Work For Ukraine Entities Tied to Hunter Biden

Cravath Swaine & Moore has disclosed it worked years ago as a foreign agent for Ukrainian businessman Mykola Zlochevsky and his company Burisma Holdings Ltd., according to Justice Department filings.

Cravath partner John D. Buretta, a former Justice Department official, dating back to January 2016 represented Burisma and Zlochevsky, who have been featured in probes of Hunter Biden, the Jan. 4 filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act show.

Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm, from 2014 to 2019. Congressional Republicans have said they are investigating whether he worked to influence his father, President Joe Biden, to thwart an investigation of the firm while the elder Biden was vice president.

“After discussions with the Department of Justice regarding FARA’s scope, Cravath has filed a retroactive registration covering legal services provided to two former clients in March and September 2016, and a supplemental statement terminating the registration as of September 2016,” Cravath said in a statement.

Justice’s FARA unit did not respond to requests for comment.

FARA mandates foreign principals and their advisers make disclosures when engaging in certain activities designed to influence the US government.

“It is not unusual for DOJ to notify a party of a possible need to register when the department becomes aware of potentially-covered activity,” said William Minor, who leads DLA Piper’s political law practice. “In those cases, the FARA Unit will typically send a ‘letter of inquiry’ requesting further information, and the subsequent back-and-forth will often lead to a party concluding that a registration is advisable, even after the work has concluded.”

Cravath said it was working for Zlochevsky “in connection with a possible investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and/or other United States governmental authorities,” according to a contract dated Jan. 13, 2016 and filed with DOJ’s FARA unit.

Cravath disclosed receiving about $350,000 from the clients for “professional services and advice rendered” between March 2016 and August 2017, according to the Jan. 4 filings.

“In January 2016, Mr. Buretta was retained to represent Mykola Zlochevsky in connection with possible investigations by governmental authorities in the United States,” Cravath said in the filings. “The representation thereafter broadened to include Burisma Holdings Limited, as well as governmental investigations in Ukraine, and continued until April 2017. The representation included both registrable and non-registrable activities.”

Buretta served as a deputy assistant attorney general during the Obama administration. He joined the Wall Street law firm Cravath in 2013, where he now leads its investigations and regulatory enforcement practice.

Buretta’s work on Burisma’s behalf included meeting with US officials “to present facts relevant to potential US and Ukrainian investigations,” according to the disclosures. In September 2016, Buretta also sent a letter to Marie Yovanovitch, then the US ambassador to Ukraine.

George Kent, a senior State Department official, testified before a Senate committee in 2020 that the letter appeared to be part of an effort to “rehabilitate the reputation” of Zlochevsky, according to a transcript from the private interview.