"The fund’s purse-strings are held by Michael Wynne-Parker, boss of the British arm of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society - an organisation accused of aiming to further Russian influence in the Middle East as US control wanes."
https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1429350697963765761
But Mr Wynne-Parker yesterday called those claims “absolute nonsense.”
He added: “There’s no big deal here,” he said. “It is a historical society dealing with cultural issues since 1880.”
He added: “There’s no big deal here,” he said. “It is a historical society dealing with cultural issues since 1880.”
He added: “What is the Kremlin, but the headquarters of the Russian government? So of course there are members of the Russian government who are supporters of this cultural, religious organisation.”
Mr Raab’s spokesman said: “Mr Leus had a wrongful conviction overturned on appeal.
“Professional due diligence was conducted before accepting the donation.
“Like all donations it was properly and transparently declared and complies fully with the law.”
“Professional due diligence was conducted before accepting the donation.
“Like all donations it was properly and transparently declared and complies fully with the law.”
Michael Wynne-Parker was described as a businessman with a dodgy background in 2003. "Michael Wynne-Parker has twice been banned by official watchdogs from giving financial advice and serving as a company director." theguardian.com/uk/2003/jun/28…
"Mr. Wynne-Parker has previously attempted to sell honorary consulships for Sierra Leone at £25,000 a time. Shady ventures... include an unlicenced loans operation, a collapsed currency trading firm, a failed airline, and a massive fraud in Sweden."
Michael Wynne-Parker at a Russian event in London with MP John Whittingdale, former honorary vice president of Conservative Friends of Russia. 
About Wynne-Parker's company Introcom International. "The Introcom formula is simple. A carefully vetted client is introduced to the appropriate personality in the country of his choice. Thus his credibility is greatly enhanced." wynne-parker.co.uk/introcom/
There have been other large donations to the Conservatives from rich Russians who are now British citizens, but this is possibly the first one that is so openly linked to Putin's regime.
Dmitry Leus is also president of the Runnymede & Weybridge Conservative Association.
From 2016: "The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) is an important tool for the strengthening of Russia’s positions in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview for the IOPS website on Monday." tass.com/politics/890368
It really doesn't get more obvious than this. thetimes.co.uk/article/putins…
From 2019: "Colonel Christopher Mackenzie-Beevor CBE, the most senior permanent officer of the Queen’s ceremonial bodyguard, spoke at a Cavalry & Guards Club dinner last month to inaugurate a British branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS)."
"Others attending included the Marquess of Bristol; Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, who is a cousin of Prince Charles; William Bortrick, owner of Burke’s Peerage; and Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian ambassador."
"Wynne-Parker said that Mackenzie-Beevor had given a speech at the February 21 dinner saying his father, a bishop, 'would be rejoicing that his son would be in such a discussion' to defend traditional norms now under attack in the West."
"Andrew Foxall, director of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society think tank, said: 'This is one of the clearest cases I have seen of a Russian influence operation reaching the highest levels of British society.'"
The officers of the IOPS in the UK.
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