Labour responds to Tory donor’s corruption scandal
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Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Party Chair, commenting on the news a
prominent Conservative Party donor has been involved in a major
corruption scandal, said: “It’s really concerning that the
Conservatives have accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds from a
man who appears to be closely linked to one of Europe’s biggest
corruption scandals. “This is not the first time that Mohamed
Amersi has been embroiled in controversy. The Conservatives should
return the...Request free trial
Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Party Chair, commenting on the news a prominent Conservative Party donor has been involved in a major corruption scandal, said: “It’s really concerning that the Conservatives have accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds from a man who appears to be closely linked to one of Europe’s biggest corruption scandals. “This is not the first time that Mohamed Amersi has been embroiled in controversy. The Conservatives should return the money he donated to them and come clean about who else is getting exclusive access to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in return for cash. “There can’t be one rule for senior Conservatives and their chums and another rule for everyone else.” Ends Notes to editors:
The donor, the Russian deals and the Conservative money machine Court documents and company records show that Amersi made part of his fortune doing deals in 2005 with a business empire that a Swiss tribunal found to be controlled by a close associate of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. Amersi was also accused in a separate 2006 lawsuit of trying to “extort” a $2bn payment from a businessman on behalf of a Russian oligarch. In an interview with the Financial Times, Amersi says: “I have not made a dishonest deal in my life, in Russia or elsewhere.” He says he made $7m in Russia but has not done business there since 2008. “Not a penny that I earned in Russia . . . has even remotely come close to being invested in the UK political system.” 7 July 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/5dab0a3e-687a-446f-8e55-58c999d4321f
Elliot has taken the concept to another level. Since December the Advisory Board has spoken with either Johnson or Sunak on a monthly basis. “It’s never below that rank,” says one person briefed on its activities. 30 July 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/8c6041ff-a223-43e9-9e45-53c3f7cf47f7
The previous year, Amersi had paid £100,000 for a one-on-one breakfast with Boris Johnson. Such cash-for-access schemes are not widely known about, but have become a fixture of party fundraising and are justified by organisers because they take place through auctions at black-tie dinners. Amersi had “won” his prize at an event in December 2019. 8 August 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-hyper-connected-tory-fixer-tangled-in-his-own-web-kkn7fhl23
On January 14, 2015, Elliot began the process of bringing one of his most lucrative clients into the heart of Tory party politics. He wrote to Amersi offering a tantalising proposition. He had already invited the businessman to an event with Boris Johnson, who was then the London mayor, and Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP, the following month. Now, he told Amersi, “I [want] to invite you to a much smaller and more exclusive event”: an “extremely intimate fundraising dinner”. The special guest: Michael Gove, then the chief whip. Elliot continued: “I am sure you will find it a most enjoyable and informative evening. I am told that the expected donation is from approximately £5,000.” 8 August 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-hyper-connected-tory-fixer-tangled-in-his-own-web-kkn7fhl23
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