Alexander Smirnov (FBI informant)

Alexander Smirnov (born 1980)^[1] is an Israeli-American former informant^[2] who was charged with, and eventually pleaded guilty to, lying to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and creating false records regarding the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory.^[3]

Early life

Smirnov was born into a Russian-speaking family in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, present-day Ukraine. His family moved to Israel in 1992. By 2010, he was living in the United States in Minnesota. Smirnov lived in California for 16 years and then moved to Las Vegas for two years where he stayed at a luxury condo near the Las Vegas Strip.^[4] During this time, he lived with his long-term girlfriend.^[5]

Career

According to the Los Angeles Times, Smirnov became an FBI informant around 2010.^[6] During this time, he travelled throughout Europe and also provided information to other American intelligence organizations as well as Israeli intelligence.^[2] During the 2020 United States presidential election, he reported to the FBI that officials at Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma had told him that they offered Hunter Biden a seat on their board to protect them. He also stated that the executives told him they paid Hunter Biden and Joe Biden $5 million each.^[7] In 2024, he admitted he lied to the FBI about the Biden payments and pled guilty to lying to the FBI.^[8]

Early legal issues

American Express sued Smirnov in 2013 after he failed to repay $100,000 of credit card debt. He borrowed $500,000 from Encino-based firm D&D Marketing and was sued in 2015 when he did not repay the loan.^[9] He was also sued in 2016 when two men claimed that he had sold them fake stock certificates.^[9]

Arrest

On February 14, 2024, Smirnov was returning to the US from abroad. He was arrested by FBI agents at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.^[10] Smirnov is a dual US-Israeli citizen and had both an Israeli passport and a U.S. passport; both were seized by the FBI.^[11][12] On February 15, Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI.^[3] Smirnov faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.^[10] On February 20, a United States magistrate judge in Smirnov's home state of Nevada ordered him released with a GPS monitor.^{[13][14][15][16]} However, a federal judge in California had him re-arrested on February 24, on the grounds that his release would be "likely to facilitate his absconding from the United States."^[17][6]

In 2020, Smirnov was paid $600,000 by Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT), prosecutors said. That same year, Smirnov began lying to the FBI about the Bidens, according to the indictment. Two of ETT's three owners, Shahal M. Khan and Farooq Arjomand, along with their associate DAMAC Properties chairman Hussain Sajwani are friends of or have done business with Donald Trump.^[18]

Prosecutors claim that Smirnov did not disclose to authorities that he and his significant other had access to more than $6 million.^[4]

Conviction

In December 2024, Smirnov pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI and was sentenced to six years in prison the next month.^[19][20]

Courtroom sketches

• Courtroom sketch of Alexander Smirnov, Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff (his attorneys) by Wes Rand; Las Vegas Review-Journal; Tribune News Service via Getty Images from
• Courtroom sketch of Alexander Smirnov by William T. Robles, Associated Press from