Russian Donor Row: Boris Could Scratch Match

Labour Lists Tory 'Russian Donors'

Updated: 1:58pm UK, Wednesday 23 July 2014

Labour has released a list of donations it claims the Conservative party has received from those with links to Russia, or who may be hit by the sorts of sanctions David Cameron says must be imposed.

Totaling just under £1m (£910,000), the donations allegedly come from people including:

:: George Piskov, who Labour claims is close to the Conservatives and the Russian regime. In 2007, he allegedly joint hosted a party at the House of Lords, inviting guests to savour 'the spirit of Russia';

:: Alexandre Germanovich, who is said to have donated £10,000 to Conservative Campaign Headquarters, also known as CCHQ, in 2007. Labour says he is an executive board member and director to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a $10bn (£5.87bn) fund established by the Russian government; and

:: New Century Media, which allegedly donated £91,000 to the Tories. Labour said it believes the company, which it said has been working closely with organisations such as Positive Russia that seek to portray Putin and Russia in a positive light, invited Vasily Shestakov and billionaire Andrei Klyamko to the Tories' summer ball in 2013.

Here is the list, as released by the Labour party:

George Piskov

:: George Piskov has donated £17,378 to the Tories, including a £10,000 donation direct to CCHQ in 2012.

:: Piskov is a Russian banker, chairman of the board of directors of Uniastrum Bank and of Protobase Laboratories, a money transfer company.

:: Piskov sold an 80% stake in Uniastrum Bank for £295m to the Bank of Cyprus in 2008. However, the deal has come under scrutiny and was referred to regulators in October 2013. There are questions surrounding the acquisition with board members apparently failing to act upon advice received, and Piskov has categorically denied allegations of kickbacks to grease the deal.

:: George Piskov is close to the Conservatives and the Russian regime. In 2007 he jointly hosted (with the Conservative Peer Lord Northbrook) a party at the House of Lords, inviting guests to savour 'the spirit of Russia', also attended by the ambassador of the Russian Federation, Yuri Viktorovich Fedotov.

Lev Mikheev

:: Hedge fund manager Mikheev has donated £96,000 to the Conservative party, either to CCHQ or Westminster local associations, between 2010 and 2012. 

:: Formerly of Moore Capital, he set up his own hedge fund, Salute Capital, which specialised in trade in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

:: The fund was liquidated following poor results and Mikheev returned to his previous role.

Alexandre Germanovich

:: Germanovich donated £10,000 to CCHQ in 2007.

:: On LinkedIn, he describes his specialities as including "Government relations".

:: Is executive board member and director to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is a $10bn (£5.87bn) fund established by the Russian government.

:: Member of the board of directors and chairman of the strategy committee to State Transport Leasing Company, which is a wholly government owned company providing leasing services to the transport industry. 

:: As part of his work for Severstal he "managed lobbying assignments" to the Russian government.

:: He started his career as a journalist covering the Kremlin, where he "contributed over 400 stories on Vladimir Putin's administration, participating in all foreign state visits and personal briefings with the Russian president, (and) conducted first ever exclusive interviews with Russian Prime Minister and President Dmitry Medvedev".

Alexander Temerko

:: A former vice president of oil giant Yukos, Temerko fled Russia and received British citizenship after being charged for fraud.

:: He is a director of Offshore Group Newcastle (OGN), which specialises in offshore wind and gas and oil platforms

:: He has personally donated £259,230 to the Conservative party, either to the central office or to local associations.

:: OGN has also donated £185,325 to the Conservative party.

:: Temerko is a member of the exclusive 'leaders group' of donors, who are invited to private events and dinners at No 10, attended by the Prime Minister and other key cabinet members.

:: Temerko reportedly bought a bust of David Cameron for £90,000 at the Conservative summer ball. He reportedly donated this to the Carlton Club, another high profile Conservative donor.

:: OGN has also benefited from millions of pounds in grants from the regional growth fund, as well as the increase in the 'strike price' paid for offshore wind power.

Lubov and Vladimir Chernhukhin

:: Lubov Chernhukhin reportedly paid £160,000 at the most recent Tory summer ball for a game of tennis with David Cameron.

:: She had previously donated £5,500 to the Conservative party.

:: She is also married to Vladimir Chenhukhin, former deputy finance minister of the Russian Federation.

:: Chenhukhin was a director of Aeroflot, JCS Russian Agricultural Bank, Vneshekonombank and Polyous Gold International Limited until April 2014.

:: He famously bought the former Midland Bank building in the City for £72m, with the aim of turning it into a six-star hotel. However, he has since defaulted on payments and administrators have been appointed.

New Century Media

:: New Century Media, which reportedly had a table at the Tory summer ball, list as one of their specialisations: "We have particularly strong credentials in Russia and the CIS, providing strategic advice to governments, major companies and high profile individuals doing business in or with Russia and other central and eastern European countries. New Century has an established office in Moscow which ensures the seamless delivery Russian corporate services offering."

:: New Century Media has donated £91,000 to the Conservative party.

:: Run by former Member of Parliament, David Burnside, New Century is believed to represent a number of high profile clients with links to the Russian Federation.

:: New Century is believed to represent Ukrainian billionaire Dimitry Firtash, who has been indicted on corruption and bribery charges in the US.

:: It is believed that New Century Media, which has been working closely with organisations such as Positive Russia, which seeks to portray Putin and Russia in a positive light, invited Vasily Shestakov and billionaire Andrei Klyamko to the summer ball.

:: Klyamko owns Ukraine's Smart Holding Group, Regal Petroleum and has large stakes in Iron ore companies Metinvest and Yuzhny GOK.

Waterford Finance

:: Described as a "financing boutique", Waterford Finance has donated £63,000 to the Conservative party between 2010 and 2013.

:: Since its incorporation, Waterford has been successful in raising finance, managing asset portfolios and directly investing in counties within the Former Soviet Union (including Kazakhstan), the Middle East, and South America, primarily in the oil and gas upstream sector and in gold exploration and production, during which time it has build partnerships with large number of multinational conglomerates and financial institutions, as well as with the players with detailed local knowledge such as Soyuzneftegaz in Russia and Kazkommertsbank in Kazakhstan.

:: Business in Russia includes a 25% holding in Astrakhan Oil Corporation, a private oil exploration and production company.

:: Waterford has a number of Russian directors.

:: Yuri Shafranik, the former Russian energy minister, is/was previously on the board of Waterford (2011). He has been described as "Vladimir Putin's pathfinder in oil markets".

:: Michael Kroupeev

:: Alexei Kroujikov

:: Another director, Vasili Evdokimov, set up law firm called Laptev & Partners in London to specifically cater for Russian clients.

Xenon Capital

:: Xenon Capital partners are a leading Russia-based investment and advisory firm.

:: Xenon donated £10,000 to the Conservative Party in 2010.

:: It has particular interests in the energy market:

:: Xenon acts as the Investment Advisor for Rusenergo Fund, Russia's largest utility fund, which is invested in significant minority stakes across a broad range of Russian electricity generation, transmission and distribution companies.

:: It lists Lord Clanwilliam or Patrick Gillford as a senior advisor, who was recently listed as attending the summer ball.

:: He has donated £10,000 to the Conservative party and also donated £3,200 to David Cameron's leadership campaign.

:: He was previously on the board of Polyous Gold, which also boasts Vladimir Cherhukhin as a former director.

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