Offshore, on message
Robert Jenrick
, Issue 1635
IF Robert Jenrick becomes leader, don't expect him to be calling for a clampdown on offshore financing any time soon.Of those backing the former immigration minister's leadership bid, the largest donor (£35,000 in August, following a similar donation to his general election campaign) is the UK arm of investment company Quantum Pacific. It was founded by Israeli businessman Idan Ofer, who now lives in the UK (presumably one immigrant Jenrick is happy with), and puts its money in energy and other industries across Asia and North America.
Not that Ofer owns the outfit directly. The British company giving Jenrick the money, Quantum Pacific Corporation UK Ltd – itself run by two directors residing far from Jenrick's Newark constituency in Monaco and Cyprus – is owned by the British Virgin Islands (BVI) company Quantum Pacific International Ltd.
But this in turn is owned by Liberian company Gladebrook Holdings Ltd, with the tax haven tour ending up with a trust of which Ofer is a beneficiary.
Spott of bother
Jenrick's other major corporate donation is £75,000 from The Spott Fitness Ltd, which is also funded from offshore funds via a loan from another BVI company, Centrovalli Ltd.
Centrovalli's ownership is unknown but has as its director a further BVI company, Saffron Directors Ltd. This is part of the Freed group of advisers, also trading as Intertax, owned by Mark Freed and operating in the UK, Switzerland and Israel. It provides "tax planning and tax construction services" and "specialises in treating sophisticated clients".
Jenrick is a keen member of the Conservative Friends of Israel (addressing its event at last month's Tory conference in a "Hamas are terrorists" hoodie). But it looks like some of his donors might not be the best friends of Israel's tax authorities.
Moscow moolah
Meanwhile, Jenrick's latest declarations show that some old Russian connections are coming good.
Access Industries (UK) Ltd, which has just given £25,000 to his campaign is controlled by Len Blavatnik, who made his big money in the post-Soviet Russia's aluminium and oil sectors. Along with leaders of the Alfa financial group, Blavatnik acquired the company TNK that went on to form the TNK-BP joint venture eventually bought out by state-owned Rosneft.
Alfa's chief executive was Alexander Knaster, who gave Jenrick £5,000 back in 2015 to help with his first general election. It remains Knaster's only donation to an individual MP. Jenrick had worked in the Moscow office of a US law firm in the late noughties.
Among Access's investments is Israeli TV outlet Channel 13 News, which has faced accusations recently of pro-Netanyahu censorship.
Next issue on sale: 6th November 2024
More top stories in the latest issue:
BILL OF HEALTH
Private equity boss Oluwole Kolade is weighing in again on a Tory leadership race, having previously supported, er, Matt Hancock in 2019.
MARSHALL PLAN
Hedge-funder and now media mogul Paul Marshall appears to have put £1m into an "anti-woke" organisation that he part-owns to fund its conferences.
SECOND JOBBING
The Eye's analysis shows that the 72 MPs who have ongoing second jobs are doing the equivalent 24 full-time jobs on top of their parliamentary work.
CALLED TO ORDURE
The Commons' second reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill resulted in a feast of contradictions, twisty half-truths and drolleries.
THE RENT BOYS
Not all MPs were happy with it the government's Renters' Rights Bill – least of all those members who also happen to be landlords themselves.
FLY AWAY WOODCOCK?
The position of the government's "political violence" adviser is in the balance after complaints about his paid work as an arms industry lobbyist.
