Biden-Linked Tech Deal With China Must Be Scrutinized - US Senator Grassley

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2019) The Treasury Department must look into the Obama administration's approval of a US-Chinese military technology deal involving former Vice President Joe Biden's son and Secretary of State John Kerry's stepson, Senator Chuck Grassley said in a letter.

"The direct involvement of Mr. Hunter Biden and Mr. [Chris] Heinz in the acquisition of Henniges by the Chinese government creates a potential conflict of interest. Both are directly related to high-ranking Obama administration officials," Grassley said in a letter that was released on Thursday. "As with the Uranium One transaction, there is cause for concern that potential conflicts of interest could have influenced CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] approval of the Henniges transaction.

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By acquiring the US-based Henninges, Grassley said, the Chinese government was able to get its hands on anti-vibration technologies with military applications.

The deal involved a company born of a merger between China's Bohai Capital and Rosemont Seneca Partners, which was reportedly formed in 2009 by Hunter Biden and Kerry's stepson Chris Heinz.

In April 2015, The New York Times reported that the family foundation of Uranium One's chairman made over $2 million in undisclosed donations to the Clinton Foundation. The Canadian uranium mining company, which controls 20 percent of all production capacity in the United States, was acquired by a subsidiary of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom in three separate transactions between 2009 and 2013.