Inside Tory treasurer's cosy dinner parties to link wealthy VIPs with ministers
Super-rich VIPs were given private access to senior ministers at cosy, undeclared dinner parties arranged by a controversial billionaire hired as chief Tory treasurer by Rishi Sunak.
And a firm used by Egyptian-born Mohamed Mansour to donate £600,000 to the Tories paid $3.85 million in additional tax following an investigation by HMRC.
Meanwhile, the firm apparently scrubbed references to its operations in Russia, after the Sunday Mirror revealed Mr Mansour had continued to make cash from the region even after the invasion of Ukraine.
The Sunday Mirror has learned monthly soirees hosted by Mr Mansour saw groups of up to 12 wealthy businessmen matched up with ministers including Mr Sunak, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Kwasi Kwarteng and Nadhim Zahawi at his lavish Belgravia residence.
After dinner, guests could quiz ministers on whatever subjects they chose for an hour or longer.
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No money was raised "as such" at the closed-door soirees, which took place while Boris Johnson was Prime Minister between 2018 and 2022.
The dinners took place in billionaires' neighbourhood Belgravia (Tony Kershaw / SWNS.com)But guests would later be approached by senior party figures to solicit donations to the party.
A source with knowledge of the parties claims former party Chairman Ben Elliott and Lord Lister, formerly Boris Johnson's chief of staff, attended some of the events.
But they were not declared by ministers on Government transparency disclosures because they were considered political events.
The Conservative Party declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Mr Mansour did not respond to a request for comment on the dinner parties.
Meanwhile, it’s claimed Mr Mansour offered to bail the Tories out of a £25 million black hole, after donors deserted the party.
Donations dropped by 45% in the third quarter of 2022, according to Electoral Commission figures.
And according to Bloomberg, Mr Mansour has agreed to underwrite several million pounds worth of donations in order to “keep the lights on.”
Mr Mansour is said to have offered to bail the Tories out of their donations black hole (Bloomberg via Getty Images)The news outlet reported Mr Zahawi was “alarmed” to find the party’s operating budget was around £5 million in the red when he took over as Chairman.
Mr Mansour, who is reportedly worth £2.3 billion, has already handed almost £600,000 to the party through his UK based company, Unatrac, which has has made millions through their operations in Russia.
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He was made Senior Treasurer in December by Mr Sunak and former chairman Nadhim Zahawi, who was sacked last week in a row over his tax affairs.
Last night, Unatrac admitted to the Sunday Mirror that they had paid $3.85 million in tax after tax officials mounted an investigation.
HMRC was investigating potential ‘diverted profits’ - in which money is moved from the UK to tax havens in order to avoid tax.
Unatrac said they had voluntarily been audited by the taxman, and handed over the cash in October 2020 for the period between 2014 and 2018.
The firm set aside a further $4 million after a subsequent probe was opened for the period since 2018.
But Unatrac say HMRC decided not to impose Diverted Profits Tax charges, and a settlement was agreed in June last year, shortly before Mr Mansour was made Tory treasurer.
A spokesperson for Unatrac said: “As happens with thousands of businesses, Unatrac was subject to a tax audit from HMRC, which the company volunteered for. These sorts of audits, for a company of our size, with different revenue streams and a global operating structure, are standard practice.
“Throughout the whole process, Unatrac worked collaboratively with HMRC, which concluded last summer that DPT did not apply. The matter is closed.”
Last week the Mirror revealed companies belonging to Mr Mansour's family business were still operating and making money in Putin's Russia - despite Mr Sunak urging business leaders to pull their investments from the country.
The job of Senior Treasurer for the Conservative Party is expected to involve a fundraising drive ahead of next year’s expected General Election.
And Mr Mansour is said to have pledged a further £2 million in donations himself to help swell party coffers for the campaign.
Mr Mansour is a client of Hawthorn Communications, the PR firm co-owned by former Tory chairman Ben Elliot.
In March, Mr Sunak urged companies to “think very carefully” about any investments that would support Vladimir Putin ’s brutal regime in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Since the story was published, all items for sale in Russia country have been removed from Unatrac's website.
And the website of the group's Russia-based arm, Mantrac Vostok, last night appeared to have been removed from the internet entirely.
In response to our initial story, a spokesperson for Unatrac said: “Since the invasion of Ukraine, Mantrac Vostok (a subsidiary of the Dubai company Unatrac Holding Limited) has scaled back its operations considerably and has been focused on fulfilling long standing commitments that pre-date February 2022.”
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