Whitey Bulger's nephew played key role in Hunter Biden's Chinese business ventures

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How deep do Hunter Biden's China connections go?

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James "Whitey" Bulger's nephew, Jim Bulger, was a business associate of Hunter Biden, and according to emails obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, appears to have played a key role in a number of his Chinese business ventures. 

Whitey Bulger was a notorious Boston crime boss, who became one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in late 1994. He was captured in 2011. Bulger was serving a life sentence for 11 murders and other crimes when he died in prison in October 2018. 

In addition to being Whitey's nephew, Jim Bulger is the son of William "Billy" Bulger, who served as president of the Massachusetts State Senate for eight years. Billy Bulger was an ally of John Kerry when he served in the Senate. Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Heinz, co-founded Rosemont Seneca with Hunter Biden and Devon Archer.

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Jim Bulger served as the chairman of Boston-based Thornton Group LLC— a firm that joined forces with Hunter Biden’s Rosemont Seneca to launch its joint-venture with Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital to create BHR Partners. BHR Partners is controlled by Bank of China Limited.

James 'Whitey' Bulger mugshot in 2011.  (Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images)

Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, Jr. poses for a mugshot on his arrival at the Federal Penitentiary at Alcatraz on November 16, 1959 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images))

One email, dated Jan. 27, 2014, with the subject line: "Meeting with Chinese Ambassador," shows Bulger suggesting himself, Hunter Biden, and his Rosemont Seneca co-founder Devon Archer, "meet with the Chinese ambassador in DC to talk about the fund."

Bulger forwards an email from his associate, Mike Leonard of Thornton Group.

"Please read the document Lenny sent me today, you will find it below," Bulger writes to Biden and Archer. "A US Embassy staffer met with the former CEO of the Bahai Fund in 2008 and wrote up a report on the meeting."

Bulger writes that it is "pretty interesting that someone at the Embassy in Beijing would be interested in what the domestic Bohai PE Fund was up to."

"Thought you guys should see this," Bulger writes. "I still believe a meeting early next week with the Ambassador if possible would be best, hope this has not caused to[sic] much of an a** ache."

It is unclear if the meeting between Biden, Bulger, Archer and the Chinese ambassador took place. Joe Biden was serving as vice president of the United States at the time of the meeting request. 

Joe Biden's brother-in-law, Jack Owens, emailed Hunter in 2014 to help him obtain a Chinese business license. (Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images)

Another email, dated May 23, 2014, shows Bulger writing to Hunter Biden and Archer.

"Gentlemen, during the weekly BHR call last night Lindsay informed the whole China team excluding Jonathan about the message you both conveyed during the morning call with Lindsay," he wrote. "She was very clear to all on the phone that the signing of an investment contract with Gouxin or BOC or PICC is task number 1."

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BOC is likely referring to Bank of China. PICC is likely referring to the People’s Insurance Company of China.

Bulger continues to say that he was asked to discuss "the need for a contracted Chinese anchor investor."

In that email, Bulger also suggests Biden and Archer discuss "high level research" with another associate from Thornton, Mike Leonard, on the "KAZ/Sino energy business" so that they "both can review."

In addition to his own business deals, Hunter also involved Bulger in his family’s business matters. Fox News Digital reported last October that John Owens, who is married to Valerie Biden Owens, President Biden’s younger sister, reached out to Hunter in May 2014 for assistance in securing a business license to expand his telemedicine company in China, saying it needed to be "secured very quickly."

Owens, who goes by Jack, emailed Hunter Biden on May 9, 2014, informing him that his companies, MediGuide America and MediGuide Insurance Services International (MISI), reached a "serious stage" in negotiations with a China-based insurance company, but said he wouldn’t be able to "seal this deal" without a "Chinese Business License."

"Time pressures are very tight, plus the fact that we do not yet have one has caused a slight credibility bump in the company's mind. This all translates into a need for a Business License, and one secured very quickly," Owens wrote. "While this might seem to be a mundane task, I have come to understand that matters such as a Business License can end up taking an inordinate amount of time.....time we just do not have."

Within the hour, Hunter turned to Bulger by forwarding the email to him. Michael Lin, a Taiwanese-American businessman who has been involved in a nonprofit that partnered with a group known for pushing propaganda supporting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was also copied on the email.

"See email below. It's from my Uncle Jack. Is there a way we can help him expedite this? Time is of the essence here," Hunter wrote.

JOE BIDEN'S BROTHER-IN-LAW ASKED HUNTER BIDEN TO HELP HIM SECURE A BUSINESS LICENSE IN CHINA, EMAILS SHOW

Bulger responded the next morning and said he would discuss with Lin how they can "help." Three days later, Bulger sent an email to Hunter saying, "Me and Michael had a call with Jack this morning I think we have a solution for hi[s] China problem."

"Michael and Ran are researching the regs and laws right now but our Thornton WOFE will likely be ok for Jacks company to use," Bulger continued. When he mentioned "WOFE," he was likely referring to the wholly foreign-owned enterprise of the Thornton Group, the company Bulger and Lin co-founded.

It is unclear whether Bulger and Lin were able to successfully secure the business license for Owens or whether Thornton’s "WOFE" sufficed China’s laws. However, MediGuide’s website says it has come to "an agreement with AnyHealth Shanghai," which "will be legally representing MediGuide International LLC in China."

Hunter appears to have been aware that Bulger was the nephew of the notorious mobster. 

One 2011 email, obtained by Fox News Digital, shows one of Hunter's business associates forwarding a news article of Whitey Bulger's 2011 arrest to Hunter, his Rosemont Senece co-founder Devon Archer and Eric Schwerin, with the subject line: "Jim's uncle…."

Bulger didn't immediately return an email seeking comment. 

Hunter has been under federal investigation for his "tax affairs" since 2018, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

Fox News first reported in December 2020 that Biden was a subject/target of the grand jury investigation, a well-placed government source told Fox News. According to the source, a "target" means that there is a "high probability that person committed a crime," while a "subject" is someone you "don’t know for sure" has committed a crime."

The federal investigation into Hunter Biden was predicated, in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions.

Another source familiar with the investigation told Fox News in December 2020 that the SARs were regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."

A Treasury Department official, who did not comment on the investigation, spoke broadly about SARs, telling Fox News that SARs are filed by financial institutions "if there is something out of the ordinary about a particular transaction." 

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The official told Fox News that the mere filing of a SAR does not mean there has been a criminal act, or violation of regulations, but instead, flags that a transaction is "out of the ordinary" for the customer. The official noted, though, that a SAR could be part of a money laundering or tax investigation.

Meanwhile, the grand jury continues to investigate Hunter Biden’s international business dealings—even after he paid off a tax liability following the announcement of the probe into his "tax affairs."

Hunter Biden, weeks after the 2020 presidential election, released a statement acknowledging the federal investigation of his "tax affairs."

"I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors," Biden said in the December 2020 statement.