Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant charged with lying about the Biden family business, faces new tax charges

The former FBI informant indicted by special counsel David Weiss for allegedly lying about the business dealings of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden is facing a separate new indictment on tax-related charges, according to court records.

According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in California federal court, Alexander Smirnov allegedly evaded paying taxes on more than $2 million in income he received from multiple sources between 2020 and 2022.

Smirnov was scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles starting next week on charges that he made up “fabrications” about President Biden and his son accepting $5 million in bribes from Ukrainian energy company Burisma, which the The president repeatedly tried to use Republicans in their years-long efforts to impeach him. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

This trial has since been postponed until January by the federal judge overseeing the Smirnow case.

The recently unsealed indictment alleges that Smirnov led a lavish lifestyle during the years in which he also allegedly spread lies about the Biden family to his FBI handler. It details expenses including a $1.4 million Las Vegas condo, a Bentley he reportedly rented for over $122,000, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in clothing, jewelry and accessories he owned allegedly bought for himself and his partner.

Despite receiving more than $2 million in sources of income, prosecutors said he listed only $60,000 in total annual income and $250,000 in gross business income on a credit card application in June 2022.

The indictment further alleges that when Smirnov sought the assistance of a professional tax return preparer who refused to sign his tax returns, Smirnov told the preparer “not to ask how he earned his income,” and that he also instructed him to delete any emails or messages sent by Smirnov.

“Mr. Smirnov intends to fight these allegations vigorously and with the same intensity with which he fought the original charges,” Smirnov’s attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said in a statement.

According to court documents, Smirnov had not yet entered a plea to the newly filed indictment as of Tuesday afternoon.

Smirnov has remained in custody since his arrest in February because he is believed to be a flight risk due to his extensive foreign contacts, which reportedly include known high-ranking intelligence agents in Russia.