Thread by @fascinatorfun

Nice sleuthing by @Turloughc and @RealBristolNews

I knew about the sale of the Brompton Rd station to Firtash & the curious deferment of payment of £33 mill of purchase price by MoD. But I hadn’t made the connection to the timing of that & Firtash’s arrest.

https://twitter.com/turloughc/status/1232299657092575237

Very interested to see 1/ the chronology of the intelligence gathering & sealed US indictment way prior to this sale.

2/ Can’t help but wonder to what extent US Intelligence sharing with the U.K. was limited given the connection if WHO was in Gov at the time and their interests

3/. How bothered might US Intelligence be that particular Ministers had connections that might be sensitive to their investigation.

Eg. Whittingdale was a Gov Minister And a Director of BUS with Lord Asquith with links to Shetler-Jones

Barker was Minister for State for Climate Change at the time of the sealed indictment & already known for his links to Russian oil companies & Oligarchs.

After he left Gov he was elevated to the Lords & also became chair of Deripaska’s EN+ (also that was subject to US sanctions)

Barker was the subject of Browder’s ire pointing out the impropriety of a law maker (Barker) in the U.K. also being a member of the board of a company subject to US Sanctions
bnnbloomberg.ca/british-lord-b…

I can imagine that US Intelligence might then (& now) be concerned about what intelligence they COULD safely share with whom.

Also of interest that a Russian Bank, state owned VTB, seems to have got a freezing order on Firtash’s assets. To protect them FOR Firtash or for whom?

Certainly in 2010 there was enough concern to block Neville-Jones given her financial links to Shetler-Jones.

What happened between then and 2013?

And now?