Despite her upbeat emails, fundraising efforts hit several obstacles. The former US executive said some of the issues were related to legal restrictions on moving investment funds across borders, but the person said he was not aware of the details of those restrictions. The former executive recalled discussion at one point of trying to move money across the Middle Eastern border in the form of gold bars, but said he was not aware of any action taken on the idea.
Internal US emails reveal that the path Jim Biden sought to get investment into the US depended on helping Billerfy, a payments processing company, gain access to the US banking system.
At the time, Billerfy processed payments for Canada’s then-largest crypto exchange, Quadriga, which since it collapsed, A lawyer representing Billerffy, Philip Holdsworth of Robbins Appleby in Toronto, did not respond to requests for comment and POLITICO was unable to reach the company directly.
A draft presentation circulated inside the US described Billerfi as an “open network for global payments” and described Jim Biden as Billerfi’s “chief global banking ambassador”.
It is not clear what the outcome of the talks was. In an email to Jim Biden on April 10, Christopher Anderson, the US outside counsel, expressed reservations about working with Billerffy. Anderson did not respond to requests for comment and a representative for Jim Biden did not respond to a question about Billerffy.
‘Dubai $$$’
As business slowed in Qatar in mid-May for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, efforts to raise funds ground to a halt and tensions rose between those involved.