Thread by @Ride4Truth

Can't wait to see this story splashed across the front page of the RW papers. 🙃

"One of the biggest donors to 🇬🇧 Conservative Party is suspected of secretly funneling 100s of 1000s of $$$ to the party from a Russian account".

1.
nytimes.com/2022/05/12/wor…

"The donation, of $630,225, was made in February 2018 in the name of Ehud Sheleg, a wealthy London art dealer who was most recently the Conservative Party’s treasurer."

2.

"But docs filed with the authorities last year...say the money originated in a Russian account of Mr. Sheleg’s father-in-law, Sergei Kopytov, who was once a senior politician in the previous pro-Kremlin govt of 🇺🇦. He now owns real estate & hotel businesses in Crimea & 🇷🇺."

3.

"“We are able to trace a clear line back from this donation to its ultimate source,” Barclays bank wrote in a Jan. 2021 alert to @NCA_UK. The bank...flagged the donation as both suspected money laundering and a potentially illegal campaign donation."

4.

"It's illegal* for political parties to accept donations of more than £500 from foreign citizens who aren't registered to vote in 🇬🇧. Mr Kopytov isn't listed on the national voter register, records show."

*It WAS illegal then, but now isn't - thx to the 2022 #ElectionsBill😒

5.

"For decades Russian wealth has poured into the London economy, enriching the lawyers, accountants & real estate brokers who ironed out the details.
🇬🇧leaders looked the other way, even as the Kremlin sowed disinformation, meddled in elections & tried to co-opt politicians."

6.

"Now, as President Vladimir Putin of Russia lays siege to Ukraine, Mr. Johnson and his government are vowing to change course and get tough on Russian money. The donation, and Mr. Sheleg’s subsequent ascent in the party, shows just how difficult that will be."

😏😑

7.

"Under English law, political parties are responsible for ensuring that their donations come from legal sources."

"Lawyers for Mr. Sheleg said that the party made no requests for additional information or documentation when he made the donation."

8.

"The alert said $2.5 million was transferred from Mr Kopytov’s bank account in 🇷🇺 in January 2018. That money pinged across Europe between empty bank accounts belonging to Mr Sheleg and his wife. Next, the $$$ landed in an offshore acct linked to Mr Sheleg’s family trust."

9.

"Five weeks later, it bounced back into the couple’s joint account in Britain, the records say. The next day, $630,225 was wired to the Conservative Party’s bank account. The transactions were made in dollars, the records show. The party recorded it as a £450,000 donation."

10.

"“Kopytov can be stated with considerable certainty to have been the true source of the donation,” the alert reads."

11.

"Bank investigators were suspicious...because all of the Shelegs’ personal bank accounts used in the transactions had a balance of zero before the money from Mr. Kopytov arrived, the report said. All returned to zero when the money left."

12.

"Rapid transfers in and out of multiple bank accounts, particularly between different countries and offshore jurisdictions, are sometimes signs of what anti-money-laundering officials call “layering.” The process is intended to hide the source of the funds."

13.

"Suspicious-activity reports are confidential by law. ...Barclays and @NCA_UK refused to discuss the matter. The NCA often refers these reports to other agencies to investigate...(BUT) The Electoral Commission, said it was unaware of any allegations against Mr. Sheleg." 😞

14.

"Mr. Sheleg made several more donations in the following months, including one of £750,000, making him the party’s largest donor that year. The documents reviewed by The NYT say nothing about those subsequent donations."

😶

15.

"Warnings about Mr. Sheleg’s financial background and connections to Russia surfaced soon after the donation and did nothing to slow Mr. Sheleg’s political ascent — or to stop the party from accepting millions more from him."

16.

"Months after the (initial) donation, the British political and investigative magazine Private Eye reported that Mr. Sheleg had hosted Russia’s ambassador in London at the height of the fallout from the annexation of Crimea."

17.

"Around that time, Mr. Sheleg became partners with a businessman in Cyprus accused of connections to organized Russian crime groups, the magazine reported." 😬

18.

"Lawyers for Mr. Sheleg said he had met the businessman accused of connections to Russian organized crime groups only “three or four” times and was not his partner." 🤨

19.

"By the time those revelations had been published, Mr. Sheleg was no longer just a donor. In fall 2018, he became a treasurer of the Conservative Party, a position responsible for fund-raising and ensuring that the party follows campaign-finance rules."

20.

"When a 🇬🇧 opposition lawmaker called for an investigation into Mr. Sheleg’s donations & his “troubling connections” to 🇷🇺, the chairman of the Conservative Party at the time said Mr. Sheleg should not need to reveal the source of his wealth and raised the threat of libel."

21.

"And when Mr Johnson became PM in July 2019, he immediately appointed Mr. Sheleg as the party’s sole treasurer. Mr. Sheleg conceived of & helped create a secret advisory board...made up of ultrawealthy Conservative donors. He was knighted soon after."

22.

"During his time as treasurer, the party received a surge in 🇷🇺-linked donations. Mr Sheleg also donated generously himself: a total of £3.8 million from 2017-20.

In September 2021, 7 months after Barclays alerted @NCA_UK to the donation, Mr. Sheleg quietly left his role."

23.

"Law enforcement officials have never contacted Mr. Sheleg in relation to his donation, his lawyers said."

👆I think that's supposed to reassure us all is totally above board.

Well, i'm not SUPER-reassured. 🫠

24:end

@fascinatorfun @JohnWest_JAWS @JessicaCheshi15 @stonesister7 @NarcAware

ADDITIONAL: What Oliver says, turned up to 11. 👇

@UKLabour @Keir_Starmer @DavidLammy
@LibDems @EdwardJDavey @LaylaMoran @theSNP @Ianblackford_MP @AlynSmith @TheGreenParty @CarolineLucas @Plaid_Cymru @TomTugendhat

https://twitter.com/OliverBullough/status/1524689499984474112?s=20&t=2TFmHX4YJWyRemam3Umrow

Additional info on Sheleg and his brother Ran, their prior dodgy operations and activities, and their investment in Halcyon Art Gallery, which is extremely cosy with both the Tory party and the Royal Family.

https://twitter.com/fascinatorfun/status/1524757992519970817?s=20&t=cPTIVcfunZrg1Y6lr9CBdg

Wow - a journalist actually asked Johnson about Sheleg and his Russia-linked Tory party donations.

Looks a bit harrassed doesn't he.🤥

https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1524776840258363396?s=20&t=77w_CqAVLEVFOJE8x6KqWA