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A top businessman whose foreign companies were part of a global money laundering investigation is a major donor to the Conservative Party.
Javad Marandi, who has an OBE for business and philanthropy, can be named after losing a 19-month legal battle with the BBC to remain anonymous.
Mr Marandi strongly denies wrongdoing and isn't subject to criminal sanction.
The judgement against him is a milestone for freedom of the press amid growing privacy laws in the courts.
A spokesman for the businessman said: "Mr Marandi is deeply disappointed at the court's decision to lift reporting restrictions, knowing the reputational damage that is likely to follow."
A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation found some of Mr Marandi's overseas interests had played a key role in an elaborate money-laundering scheme involving one of Azerbaijan's richest oligarchs.
In January 2022, a judge ruled the NCA could seize £5.6m [$7m] from the London-based family of Javanshir Feyziyev, a member of Azerbaijan's parliament.
Javad Marandi, who has an OBE for business and philanthropy, can be named after losing a 19-month legal battle with the BBC to remain anonymous.
Mr Marandi strongly denies wrongdoing and isn't subject to criminal sanction.
The judgement against him is a milestone for freedom of the press amid growing privacy laws in the courts.
A spokesman for the businessman said: "Mr Marandi is deeply disappointed at the court's decision to lift reporting restrictions, knowing the reputational damage that is likely to follow."
A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation found some of Mr Marandi's overseas interests had played a key role in an elaborate money-laundering scheme involving one of Azerbaijan's richest oligarchs.
In January 2022, a judge ruled the NCA could seize £5.6m [$7m] from the London-based family of Javanshir Feyziyev, a member of Azerbaijan's parliament.
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Their British bank accounts received cash that had been removed from Azerbaijan in what the judge said had been "a significant money-laundering scheme".
The family have denied that allegation - and at the outset of the hearing, in October 2021, Mr Marandi was granted anonymity in court.
Now, High Court judges have ruled that Mr Marandi can be identified because he had been a "person of importance" in the NCA's case.
'Successful international businessman'
Mr Marandi, 55, was born in Iran and grew up in London, where he still lives.
His ties to the Conservative Party emerged through reports of his generous donations. Between 2014 and 2020, he gave £756,300, according to Electoral Commission records.
In February 2022, the Sunday Times reported he was a member of a group of major donors who had access to senior party members, including to then prime minister, Boris Johnson.
The family have denied that allegation - and at the outset of the hearing, in October 2021, Mr Marandi was granted anonymity in court.
Now, High Court judges have ruled that Mr Marandi can be identified because he had been a "person of importance" in the NCA's case.
'Successful international businessman'
Mr Marandi, 55, was born in Iran and grew up in London, where he still lives.
His ties to the Conservative Party emerged through reports of his generous donations. Between 2014 and 2020, he gave £756,300, according to Electoral Commission records.
In February 2022, the Sunday Times reported he was a member of a group of major donors who had access to senior party members, including to then prime minister, Boris Johnson.
So there we have it.
A nice friend of the oligarchs is involved in a massive money laundering inquiry, and is donating hundreds of thousands to the Tories,.
Now why would he do that?
Is it because:
1. He loves the history of the Tory Party?
2. He wanted to make sure there was money with the Toriesnto help feed the poor?or
3. He wanted a nice free ride for his handing of oligarch’s money using fake companies and wanted an OBR and relied on disgusting Tory sleaze and corruption? 1.01 NAP.
Landed.
Oh and he already has his OBE.
Sicking.
It’s time the U.K. got rid of this scandalous Tory sleaze which has cost us all so much money.
A nice friend of the oligarchs is involved in a massive money laundering inquiry, and is donating hundreds of thousands to the Tories,.
Now why would he do that?
Is it because:
1. He loves the history of the Tory Party?
2. He wanted to make sure there was money with the Toriesnto help feed the poor?or
3. He wanted a nice free ride for his handing of oligarch’s money using fake companies and wanted an OBR and relied on disgusting Tory sleaze and corruption? 1.01 NAP.
Landed.
Oh and he already has his OBE.
Sicking.
It’s time the U.K. got rid of this scandalous Tory sleaze which has cost us all so much money.
Spot on
.....and they stopped pretending they are "great"
.....and they stopped pretending they are "great"
What has he been charged with ?
When is his trial ?
He is not subject to any criminal sanctions. - There you go - no criminality - therefore no crime.
Bad judgement within the law doesn't constitute a crime - apart from on this forum...
Is it a bad look for the Tories ? - Yes of course , but hardly "staggeringly corrupt" , unless of course you can show that the party knew that they law had been broken when accepting the donations ? - If you can then you have a story...but until then ...
All this confirms is that all political parties should be duty bound to carry out more substantive due diligence before accepting significant donations.
When is his trial ?
He is not subject to any criminal sanctions. - There you go - no criminality - therefore no crime.
Bad judgement within the law doesn't constitute a crime - apart from on this forum...
Is it a bad look for the Tories ? - Yes of course , but hardly "staggeringly corrupt" , unless of course you can show that the party knew that they law had been broken when accepting the donations ? - If you can then you have a story...but until then ...
All this confirms is that all political parties should be duty bound to carry out more substantive due diligence before accepting significant donations.
Is it a bad look for the Tories ? - Yes of course
Answering your own questions ?
Answering your own questions ?
Tories telling lies whats new,oh but then again everything they say about Ukraine is gospel
Johnny
Have you heard of the Moorov doctrine?
The Tories are staggeringly corrupt alright.
So nobody has yet been found guilty of any illegal corruption involved in:
wallpapergate,
Jenrykgate/ashtongate,
Partygate
Eyetestgate
Tomerkogate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Fedetovgate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Chernukhingate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Ben Elliot links to Russian loot
Owen Pattersongate
PPEgate
Nadine Zahawigate
Gavin Williamsongate
And the list goes on and on and on.
So whilst nobody has yet been locked up for Tory corruption, Moorov doctrine would suggest that when you have a Putin henchman in the House of Lords, and The Sleaze put him there, when you have the Tories enriching their chums again and again as per the PPE scandal, and when you have a long list of sleazy arrangements and nothing done to address them,its very fair to conclude that staggering sleaze and corruption is behind it.
Now you could have argued that a lot of this staggering corruption was down to The Sleaze. But since he was dumped, Truss and now Sunak have done nothing to clean the Tories corruption up, nothing.
They are still at it.
The Tories believe there are rules for the plebs us ordinary people. But they carry on just as always in the sincere belief that there are no rules at all for entitled Hooray Henries like them.
Have you heard of the Moorov doctrine?
The Tories are staggeringly corrupt alright.
So nobody has yet been found guilty of any illegal corruption involved in:
wallpapergate,
Jenrykgate/ashtongate,
Partygate
Eyetestgate
Tomerkogate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Fedetovgate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Chernukhingate (Russian dosh given to Tories)
Ben Elliot links to Russian loot
Owen Pattersongate
PPEgate
Nadine Zahawigate
Gavin Williamsongate
And the list goes on and on and on.
So whilst nobody has yet been locked up for Tory corruption, Moorov doctrine would suggest that when you have a Putin henchman in the House of Lords, and The Sleaze put him there, when you have the Tories enriching their chums again and again as per the PPE scandal, and when you have a long list of sleazy arrangements and nothing done to address them,its very fair to conclude that staggering sleaze and corruption is behind it.
Now you could have argued that a lot of this staggering corruption was down to The Sleaze. But since he was dumped, Truss and now Sunak have done nothing to clean the Tories corruption up, nothing.
They are still at it.
The Tories believe there are rules for the plebs us ordinary people. But they carry on just as always in the sincere belief that there are no rules at all for entitled Hooray Henries like them.
Do I need to list again all of the Labour MPs jailed for sleaze and corruption ?
Okay.
Let’s see the Labour sleaze over the last 13 years.
The Tories have clearly spent billions of tax payers money on their chums in the PPEgate disaster alone. Let’s compare the performance of Labour if you like.
How can you possibly support this evil Tory sleaze and corruption Johnny? They are the most corrupt government I have ever known and I can remember Harold Wilson getting in the first time.
I was no fan of the witch Thatcher. But I would have to concede that she would not have stood for the odious corruption that the current Tory government is mired in up to their stinking greedy necks.
Let’s see the Labour sleaze over the last 13 years.
The Tories have clearly spent billions of tax payers money on their chums in the PPEgate disaster alone. Let’s compare the performance of Labour if you like.
How can you possibly support this evil Tory sleaze and corruption Johnny? They are the most corrupt government I have ever known and I can remember Harold Wilson getting in the first time.
I was no fan of the witch Thatcher. But I would have to concede that she would not have stood for the odious corruption that the current Tory government is mired in up to their stinking greedy necks.
There is something systematic about the way the current brood of Tories have gone about it all. Of course there have been bad eggs in political U.K. Parties over the years. That is inevitable.
What is not inevitable is the disgusting, even brazen way that the Tories have carried on.
The VIP lane for PPE contracts was so obvious, if it had not cost us all so very many billions, it would have been funny. Tory chums and donors getting dynastic sized bungs for hee haw, stuff that was either useless or never existed. Even Handcock’s barman got a share.
Then the lobbying scandals. Patterson was caught bang to rights and when he was caught, the Tories tried to change the rules to make his corruption “alright”. That’s far worse than an odd bad egg. It’s a refusal of many Tory MPs to accept that rules of decency and propriety apply even remotely to them. They are rotten to their lousy core.
The Tories have been in power far too long, they have forgotten that we pay their wages to do stuff for us, not for themselves and their toff chums.
What is not inevitable is the disgusting, even brazen way that the Tories have carried on.
The VIP lane for PPE contracts was so obvious, if it had not cost us all so very many billions, it would have been funny. Tory chums and donors getting dynastic sized bungs for hee haw, stuff that was either useless or never existed. Even Handcock’s barman got a share.
Then the lobbying scandals. Patterson was caught bang to rights and when he was caught, the Tories tried to change the rules to make his corruption “alright”. That’s far worse than an odd bad egg. It’s a refusal of many Tory MPs to accept that rules of decency and propriety apply even remotely to them. They are rotten to their lousy core.
The Tories have been in power far too long, they have forgotten that we pay their wages to do stuff for us, not for themselves and their toff chums.
You seem totally unable to differentiate between making a bad business decision when in "panic mode" during a pandemic, and a corrupt business transaction.
Repeatedly mentioning "Handcock's barman" only makes you look stupid to be quite honest - Why on earth would anybody in public office enter into a corrupt business transaction risking their whole political career to solely benefit a bloke who works in their local pub ? It makes no logical sense.
Are you suggesting that Hancock benefitted personally from the transaction by receiving some sort of kick back ? If you are then you do indeed have a major story , but of course you don't have any evidence of this.
You really need to put up or shut up.
Repeatedly mentioning "Handcock's barman" only makes you look stupid to be quite honest - Why on earth would anybody in public office enter into a corrupt business transaction risking their whole political career to solely benefit a bloke who works in their local pub ? It makes no logical sense.
Are you suggesting that Hancock benefitted personally from the transaction by receiving some sort of kick back ? If you are then you do indeed have a major story , but of course you don't have any evidence of this.
You really need to put up or shut up.
Repeatedly mentioning "Handcock's barman" only makes you look stupid to be quite honest - Why on earth would anybody in public office enter into a corrupt business transaction risking their whole political career to solely benefit a bloke who works in their local pub ? It makes no logical sense.
But that is what happened.
Your stout defence of the party of sleaze make you look exceptionally stupid to be perfectly frank.
But that is what happened.
Your stout defence of the party of sleaze make you look exceptionally stupid to be perfectly frank.
“Bad business decision”
You really are incredibly foolish to fall for that line.
How is it that all these “bad business decisions”;or very many of them favoured Tory donors and chums?
Either you think it’s a series of incredible coincidences, a 10 million to one shot, or it was corruption.
You don’t have to personally benefit from corruption for it to be corruption.
Feathering the nests of your chums and party donors, exactly what happened during the PPE gate disaster, was corruption on a grand scale.
The fact that even Handcock’s barman was the beneficiary of the PPEgate bungs shows just how blindingly obvious the corruption was. Are you really so utterly daft as to suggest Handcock’s barman getting a PPEgate bung was a coincidence?
You really are incredibly foolish to fall for that line.
How is it that all these “bad business decisions”;or very many of them favoured Tory donors and chums?
Either you think it’s a series of incredible coincidences, a 10 million to one shot, or it was corruption.
You don’t have to personally benefit from corruption for it to be corruption.
Feathering the nests of your chums and party donors, exactly what happened during the PPE gate disaster, was corruption on a grand scale.
The fact that even Handcock’s barman was the beneficiary of the PPEgate bungs shows just how blindingly obvious the corruption was. Are you really so utterly daft as to suggest Handcock’s barman getting a PPEgate bung was a coincidence?
In fact here is your proof
An acquaintance and former neighbour of Matt Hancock is supplying the government with tens of millions of vials for NHS Covid-19 tests despite having had no previous experience of producing medical supplies.
Alex Bourne, who used to run a pub close to Hancock’s former constituency home in Suffolk, said he initially offered his services to the UK health secretary several months ago by sending him a personal WhatsApp message.
Bourne’s company, Hinpack, was at that time producing plastic cups and takeaway boxes for the catering industry. It is now supplying about 2m medical grade vials a week to the government via a distributor contracted by the NHS.
Bourne categorically denies he profited from his personal contact with Hancock. However, the case raises questions for the health secretary and is likely to reignite the row over alleged government cronyism during the pandemic.
An acquaintance and former neighbour of Matt Hancock is supplying the government with tens of millions of vials for NHS Covid-19 tests despite having had no previous experience of producing medical supplies.
Alex Bourne, who used to run a pub close to Hancock’s former constituency home in Suffolk, said he initially offered his services to the UK health secretary several months ago by sending him a personal WhatsApp message.
Bourne’s company, Hinpack, was at that time producing plastic cups and takeaway boxes for the catering industry. It is now supplying about 2m medical grade vials a week to the government via a distributor contracted by the NHS.
Bourne categorically denies he profited from his personal contact with Hancock. However, the case raises questions for the health secretary and is likely to reignite the row over alleged government cronyism during the pandemic.
However, on Monday, after being confronted with further details about his interactions with the health secretary, Bourne backtracked. In a phone call with the Guardian, he conceded that he has in fact exchanged text and email messages with Hancock over several months.
He also participated in an industry Zoom meeting in August attended by Hancock, Boris Johnson and several dozen suppliers in the Covid test-and-trace programme.
Bourne said he sent his WhatsApp message to Hancock’s mobile number on 30 March offering his services amid a nationwide call to arms to respond to the pandemic. Bourne said he opened the exchange: “Hello, it’s Alex Bourne from Thurlow.”
Until the end of 2017 when they leased it out, Bourne and his wife had run the **** Inn, a village pub in Thurlow a few hundred yards from Hancock’s former constituency home. The Conservative cabinet minister was a supporter of the pub, attending its reopening after refurbishment in 2016 and nominating it for an award in 2017. Hancock posted a photo of himself pulling a pint with Bourne on his parliamentary website. Hancock moved in 2018.
He also participated in an industry Zoom meeting in August attended by Hancock, Boris Johnson and several dozen suppliers in the Covid test-and-trace programme.
Bourne said he sent his WhatsApp message to Hancock’s mobile number on 30 March offering his services amid a nationwide call to arms to respond to the pandemic. Bourne said he opened the exchange: “Hello, it’s Alex Bourne from Thurlow.”
Until the end of 2017 when they leased it out, Bourne and his wife had run the **** Inn, a village pub in Thurlow a few hundred yards from Hancock’s former constituency home. The Conservative cabinet minister was a supporter of the pub, attending its reopening after refurbishment in 2016 and nominating it for an award in 2017. Hancock posted a photo of himself pulling a pint with Bourne on his parliamentary website. Hancock moved in 2018.
Bourne said his initial hope was that his packaging firm might be able to retool to provide personal protective equipment (PPE). Hancock messaged back, according to Bourne, directing him to a Department of Health and Social Care website, where he formally submitted details of the work his firm could do. Bourne’s lawyers said there was no further follow-up with Hancock.
FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in BritainFILE PHOTO: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they care for a patent at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cambridge, Britain May 5, 2020. Neil Hall/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
UK's 'chaotic' PPE procurement cost billions extra
Read more
A week or two later, around mid-April, Bourne said a major distributor of medical products that he had never heard of called him asking if he could produce specialist Covid-related items such as drop-wells and pipette tips. His company Hinpack was not deemed suitable for that job.
Later that month, Bourne said he was called back by the same distributor. The firm, which already had a general government contract in place to supply the NHS regularly when Covid struck, said it had been asked by the government to supply test tubes. Bourne persuaded the firm he could produce the vials, and said he also discussed Hinpack’s work with two civil servants representing the DHSC.
By June, after engaging the assistance of external advisers and regulatory experts, Bourne was producing large quantities of medical vials. He said he was now making about 2m vials a week, as well as about 500,000 plastic funnels for test samples.
In August, he switched distributor, and is now supplying the same tubes via Alpha Laboratories, which also had a pre-existing contract with DHSC. In a statement, Alpha Laboratories said: “Although we were aware Alex Bourne had met Mr Hancock, this was irrelevant to our discussions as we were sourcing from Hinpack a price-competitive product for the NHS supply chain which fitted within our product range.”
A Suffolk local and friend of Bourne’s, Sukhvinder Dhat, said he had regularly seen Hancock in the pub when he lived in the village and claimed that Bourne and Hancock were “friends” and “buddies”.
FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in BritainFILE PHOTO: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they care for a patent at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cambridge, Britain May 5, 2020. Neil Hall/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
UK's 'chaotic' PPE procurement cost billions extra
Read more
A week or two later, around mid-April, Bourne said a major distributor of medical products that he had never heard of called him asking if he could produce specialist Covid-related items such as drop-wells and pipette tips. His company Hinpack was not deemed suitable for that job.
Later that month, Bourne said he was called back by the same distributor. The firm, which already had a general government contract in place to supply the NHS regularly when Covid struck, said it had been asked by the government to supply test tubes. Bourne persuaded the firm he could produce the vials, and said he also discussed Hinpack’s work with two civil servants representing the DHSC.
By June, after engaging the assistance of external advisers and regulatory experts, Bourne was producing large quantities of medical vials. He said he was now making about 2m vials a week, as well as about 500,000 plastic funnels for test samples.
In August, he switched distributor, and is now supplying the same tubes via Alpha Laboratories, which also had a pre-existing contract with DHSC. In a statement, Alpha Laboratories said: “Although we were aware Alex Bourne had met Mr Hancock, this was irrelevant to our discussions as we were sourcing from Hinpack a price-competitive product for the NHS supply chain which fitted within our product range.”
A Suffolk local and friend of Bourne’s, Sukhvinder Dhat, said he had regularly seen Hancock in the pub when he lived in the village and claimed that Bourne and Hancock were “friends” and “buddies”.
Bourne said his initial hope was that his packaging firm might be able to retool to provide personal protective equipment (PPE). Hancock messaged back, according to Bourne, directing him to a Department of Health and Social Care website, where he formally submitted details of the work his firm could do. Bourne’s lawyers said there was no further follow-up with Hancock.
FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in BritainFILE PHOTO: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they care for a patent at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cambridge, Britain May 5, 2020. Neil Hall/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
UK's 'chaotic' PPE procurement cost billions extra
Read more
A week or two later, around mid-April, Bourne said a major distributor of medical products that he had never heard of called him asking if he could produce specialist Covid-related items such as drop-wells and pipette tips. His company Hinpack was not deemed suitable for that job.
Later that month, Bourne said he was called back by the same distributor. The firm, which already had a general government contract in place to supply the NHS regularly when Covid struck, said it had been asked by the government to supply test tubes. Bourne persuaded the firm he could produce the vials, and said he also discussed Hinpack’s work with two civil servants representing the DHSC.
By June, after engaging the assistance of external advisers and regulatory experts, Bourne was producing large quantities of medical vials. He said he was now making about 2m vials a week, as well as about 500,000 plastic funnels for test samples.
In August, he switched distributor, and is now supplying the same tubes via Alpha Laboratories, which also had a pre-existing contract with DHSC. In a statement, Alpha Laboratories said: “Although we were aware Alex Bourne had met Mr Hancock, this was irrelevant to our discussions as we were sourcing from Hinpack a price-competitive product for the NHS supply chain which fitted within our product range.”
A Suffolk local and friend of Bourne’s, Sukhvinder Dhat, said he had regularly seen Hancock in the pub when he lived in the village and claimed that Bourne and Hancock were “friends” and “buddies”.
FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in BritainFILE PHOTO: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they care for a patent at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cambridge, Britain May 5, 2020. Neil Hall/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
UK's 'chaotic' PPE procurement cost billions extra
Read more
A week or two later, around mid-April, Bourne said a major distributor of medical products that he had never heard of called him asking if he could produce specialist Covid-related items such as drop-wells and pipette tips. His company Hinpack was not deemed suitable for that job.
Later that month, Bourne said he was called back by the same distributor. The firm, which already had a general government contract in place to supply the NHS regularly when Covid struck, said it had been asked by the government to supply test tubes. Bourne persuaded the firm he could produce the vials, and said he also discussed Hinpack’s work with two civil servants representing the DHSC.
By June, after engaging the assistance of external advisers and regulatory experts, Bourne was producing large quantities of medical vials. He said he was now making about 2m vials a week, as well as about 500,000 plastic funnels for test samples.
In August, he switched distributor, and is now supplying the same tubes via Alpha Laboratories, which also had a pre-existing contract with DHSC. In a statement, Alpha Laboratories said: “Although we were aware Alex Bourne had met Mr Hancock, this was irrelevant to our discussions as we were sourcing from Hinpack a price-competitive product for the NHS supply chain which fitted within our product range.”
A Suffolk local and friend of Bourne’s, Sukhvinder Dhat, said he had regularly seen Hancock in the pub when he lived in the village and claimed that Bourne and Hancock were “friends” and “buddies”.
And that was just Handcock’s barman.
Revealed: the full inside story of the Michelle Mone PPE scandal
PPE Medpro and partners made as much as £100m profits
At least £70m from PPE Medpro contracts taken offshore
Small electronics firm behind supply of gowns for NHS
Jet, yacht and racehorse purchased after PPE deal
Tory peer and husband now selling yacht and properties
Mone takes leave of absence from Lords and may leave UK
That was amazing corruption too.
“Bas business deal my RRSSS
Revealed: the full inside story of the Michelle Mone PPE scandal
PPE Medpro and partners made as much as £100m profits
At least £70m from PPE Medpro contracts taken offshore
Small electronics firm behind supply of gowns for NHS
Jet, yacht and racehorse purchased after PPE deal
Tory peer and husband now selling yacht and properties
Mone takes leave of absence from Lords and may leave UK
That was amazing corruption too.
“Bas business deal my RRSSS
Companies that were referred by Conservative MPs and peers to the expedited ‘VIP’ lane for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the pandemic have seen their profits quadruple, Byline Times can reveal.
Firms processed through this high-priority route – referred by MPs, peers, officials and advisors – were 10 times more likely to be awarded a contract than companies funnelled through other procurement paths.
The Government was earlier this year forced to release the names of the 51 firms that was awarded contracts through the VIP lane, along with the names of the individuals who referred them. Twenty of these firms were referred by Conservative MPs or peers, with not a single successful VIP lane firm referred by MPs or peers belonging to other political parties.
Firms processed through this high-priority route – referred by MPs, peers, officials and advisors – were 10 times more likely to be awarded a contract than companies funnelled through other procurement paths.
The Government was earlier this year forced to release the names of the 51 firms that was awarded contracts through the VIP lane, along with the names of the individuals who referred them. Twenty of these firms were referred by Conservative MPs or peers, with not a single successful VIP lane firm referred by MPs or peers belonging to other political parties.
Companies that were referred by Conservative MPs and peers to the expedited ‘VIP’ lane for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the pandemic have seen their profits quadruple, Byline Times can reveal.
Firms processed through this high-priority route – referred by MPs, peers, officials and advisors – were 10 times more likely to be awarded a contract than companies funnelled through other procurement paths.
The Government was earlier this year forced to release the names of the 51 firms that was awarded contracts through the VIP lane, along with the names of the individuals who referred them. Twenty of these firms were referred by Conservative MPs or peers, with not a single successful VIP lane firm referred by MPs or peers belonging to other political parties.
Firms processed through this high-priority route – referred by MPs, peers, officials and advisors – were 10 times more likely to be awarded a contract than companies funnelled through other procurement paths.
The Government was earlier this year forced to release the names of the 51 firms that was awarded contracts through the VIP lane, along with the names of the individuals who referred them. Twenty of these firms were referred by Conservative MPs or peers, with not a single successful VIP lane firm referred by MPs or peers belonging to other political parties.
Twenty of these firms were referred by Conservative MPs or peers, with not a single successful VIP lane firm referred by MPs or peers belonging to other political parties
20 firms referred by Tories
None from another party.
And you call that a bad business deal.
I call if corruption because that is so very clearly what it was. And if you still don’t believe the Tories have been institutional,y corrupt with their stinking Hooray Henry snouts in the till, you are not just appearing to be stupid. It’s rather more serious than that.
20 firms referred by Tories
None from another party.
And you call that a bad business deal.
I call if corruption because that is so very clearly what it was. And if you still don’t believe the Tories have been institutional,y corrupt with their stinking Hooray Henry snouts in the till, you are not just appearing to be stupid. It’s rather more serious than that.
You miss the context - the whole country , apart from Cider , was in "panic mode" - "Where is the PPE our NHS desperately needs !! ? " - all day and every evening.
Somebody offers to supply some PPE - they get the gig - now that might have been naive , foolish or whatever you want to call it.
But like it or not - there is no evidence of corruption.
Don't just repeat the stories , I know the stories - produce the evidence of Tory corruption - or I'm afraid the verdict is ....."Not Guilty".
Somebody offers to supply some PPE - they get the gig - now that might have been naive , foolish or whatever you want to call it.
But like it or not - there is no evidence of corruption.
Don't just repeat the stories , I know the stories - produce the evidence of Tory corruption - or I'm afraid the verdict is ....."Not Guilty".
How naive to just casually dismiss the possibility of corruption. Must be blissful.
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain.
I'm not dismissing the possibility of corruption - I want to see the evidence of the corruption - a perfectly reasonable position in a civilised society.
Does any evidence exist or not ? - simple question.
If not - then "case dismissed".
I'm not dismissing the possibility of corruption - I want to see the evidence of the corruption - a perfectly reasonable position in a civilised society.
Does any evidence exist or not ? - simple question.
If not - then "case dismissed".
Sorry you are beyond help.
I just gave you plenty of evidence of Tory sleaze and corruption.
You can choose define it as you want to.
A nice selection of facts is there for you.
The Tories are clearly as sleazy as hell and twice as corrupt, and whilst as would be happy to acknowledge that a number of Tory MPs are note mired in sleaze, the Government has been as sleazy as any seen in the U.K. since the 1800s.
And Handcock’s barman is just a mild example albeit a good one.
I just gave you plenty of evidence of Tory sleaze and corruption.
You can choose define it as you want to.
A nice selection of facts is there for you.
The Tories are clearly as sleazy as hell and twice as corrupt, and whilst as would be happy to acknowledge that a number of Tory MPs are note mired in sleaze, the Government has been as sleazy as any seen in the U.K. since the 1800s.
And Handcock’s barman is just a mild example albeit a good one.
Well Johnny
I dare say you have given up the argument about Handcock and corruption, and who can blame you.
But since you called me “stupid” for observing the Tories’ sleaze and corruption, I thought you would be interested in the latest information, squeezed out of the sleazy Tories by The Good Law Project.
Contents of messages obtained by Good Law Project reveal for the first time details of conversations between Matt Hancock and Tory donor Mustafa Mohammed. The relationship led to a 'VIP' covid testing contract being awarded to a company called Ecolog International.
Mustafa Mohammed has donated over £230,000 to the Conservative party and his company Genix Healthcare, a further £160,000.
Last December, we revealed Matt Hancock referred Ecolog International onto the secretive covid testing ‘VIP’ lane after being contacted by Mustafa Mohammed, who was working in partnership with Ecolog International to provide covid testing services. Mohammed lobbied Hancock directly via email and WhatsApp in the months leading up to the firm's contract award.
The pair first exchanged WhatsApp messages on 11 June 2020. Mohammed opened the exchange by saying “Hope you’re well my dear friend” before pitching his proposals to the former Health Secretary. Hancock replied early the next morning, thanking Mohammed and saying “I have asked my team to look into it and get back to you”.
A week later on 18 June 2020 Mohammed messages again to say “Thank you ever so much for your kind help. I am very much looking forward to seeing you very soon”, within two hours Hancock replies “Excellent”.
In September 2020, following Mohammed’s lobbying, Hancock’s department issued Ecolog with a Letter of Intent to supply laboratory equipment and PCR testing for COVID-19, but for unknown reasons the government later decided to cancel the contract. This decision led to a £38.6m settlement fee being paid to Ecolog - a move that was branded a waste of taxpayers money by an NHS head of procurement.
I dare say you have given up the argument about Handcock and corruption, and who can blame you.
But since you called me “stupid” for observing the Tories’ sleaze and corruption, I thought you would be interested in the latest information, squeezed out of the sleazy Tories by The Good Law Project.
Contents of messages obtained by Good Law Project reveal for the first time details of conversations between Matt Hancock and Tory donor Mustafa Mohammed. The relationship led to a 'VIP' covid testing contract being awarded to a company called Ecolog International.
Mustafa Mohammed has donated over £230,000 to the Conservative party and his company Genix Healthcare, a further £160,000.
Last December, we revealed Matt Hancock referred Ecolog International onto the secretive covid testing ‘VIP’ lane after being contacted by Mustafa Mohammed, who was working in partnership with Ecolog International to provide covid testing services. Mohammed lobbied Hancock directly via email and WhatsApp in the months leading up to the firm's contract award.
The pair first exchanged WhatsApp messages on 11 June 2020. Mohammed opened the exchange by saying “Hope you’re well my dear friend” before pitching his proposals to the former Health Secretary. Hancock replied early the next morning, thanking Mohammed and saying “I have asked my team to look into it and get back to you”.
A week later on 18 June 2020 Mohammed messages again to say “Thank you ever so much for your kind help. I am very much looking forward to seeing you very soon”, within two hours Hancock replies “Excellent”.
In September 2020, following Mohammed’s lobbying, Hancock’s department issued Ecolog with a Letter of Intent to supply laboratory equipment and PCR testing for COVID-19, but for unknown reasons the government later decided to cancel the contract. This decision led to a £38.6m settlement fee being paid to Ecolog - a move that was branded a waste of taxpayers money by an NHS head of procurement.
So that’s it.
Another £38.6 millions of our money, tax payers money, bunged to a Tory donor.
Not a small amount of money. A lot of tax payers money bunged to a Tory donor and a chum of Handcock.
And you think they are not corrupt Johnny.
You must be mad.
Another £38.6 millions of our money, tax payers money, bunged to a Tory donor.
Not a small amount of money. A lot of tax payers money bunged to a Tory donor and a chum of Handcock.
And you think they are not corrupt Johnny.
You must be mad.
Where are the criminal charges ?
If criminality is involved then I'm all for legal due process.
What are the "unknown reasons" for the cancellation of the contract - that seems the key point to me. Do you know ?
We don't have or want a legal system that operates on hunches or supposition.
If I desperately need 50 million widgets - I might place orders for 75 million with a number of suppliers - Once I have the 50 million I need in stock I cancel the orders for the other 25 million and reach a settlement on the cancelled orders. It might not be the best business approach but it Isn't corrupt - especially when it is the health of the nation at stake.
If criminality is involved then I'm all for legal due process.
What are the "unknown reasons" for the cancellation of the contract - that seems the key point to me. Do you know ?
We don't have or want a legal system that operates on hunches or supposition.
If I desperately need 50 million widgets - I might place orders for 75 million with a number of suppliers - Once I have the 50 million I need in stock I cancel the orders for the other 25 million and reach a settlement on the cancelled orders. It might not be the best business approach but it Isn't corrupt - especially when it is the health of the nation at stake.
Illegal or not it’s sleaze and corruption.
Why defend it?
Why defend it?
Are you really saying it’s okay for Handcock to have bunged Gory donors millions of our money?
All this "Tory sleaze and corruption" you post about on a daily basis - but nobody ever seems to get close to a criminal charge let alone a conviction. Why is that ?
Maybe because it isn't corruption ?
Maybe because it isn't corruption ?
Have it your way Johnny.
The squandering of £Billions of public money in the PPEgate scandal, with the notable beneficiaries being Tory MPs and ministers chums and Tory Party donors is a scandal and a disgrace.
I can not sleaze and corruption.
You can call it “legal” and excuse it if you like.
The squandering of £Billions of public money in the PPEgate scandal, with the notable beneficiaries being Tory MPs and ministers chums and Tory Party donors is a scandal and a disgrace.
I can not sleaze and corruption.
You can call it “legal” and excuse it if you like.
Johnny The Guesser • May 18, 2023 6:43 PM BST
Where are the criminal charges ?
If criminality is involved then I'm all for legal due process.
exactly jonny ...wtf is going on over there ?
Where are the criminal charges ?
If criminality is involved then I'm all for legal due process.
exactly jonny ...wtf is going on over there ?
The Conservatives have accepted a £5m donation from an Egyptian-born billionaire who served as a minister in the government of the former president Hosni Mubarak.
Mohamed Mansour, who was made senior treasurer of the Conservatives in December, announced he had given the sum to the party, its biggest one-off donation for more than 20 years.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mansour, who served as a transport minister under Mubarak from 2006 to 2009, said he had given the money to assist Rishi Sunak, whom he described as “a very capable prime minister” who understood the economy.
Mansour is the chair of the Mansour Group multinational corporation, which he owns with two of his brothers. Through another of his companies, Unatrac, he has previously donated about £600,000 to the Tories.
The new donation is the biggest for the Conservatives since Paul Getty gave the same sum to the party in 2001.
When Mansour was given his Conservative party treasurer role, Labour said Sunak could not claim to stand up for integrity when there was “a billionaire who was a part of Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime being put in charge of drumming up donations”.
Mohamed Mansour, who was made senior treasurer of the Conservatives in December, announced he had given the sum to the party, its biggest one-off donation for more than 20 years.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mansour, who served as a transport minister under Mubarak from 2006 to 2009, said he had given the money to assist Rishi Sunak, whom he described as “a very capable prime minister” who understood the economy.
Mansour is the chair of the Mansour Group multinational corporation, which he owns with two of his brothers. Through another of his companies, Unatrac, he has previously donated about £600,000 to the Tories.
The new donation is the biggest for the Conservatives since Paul Getty gave the same sum to the party in 2001.
When Mansour was given his Conservative party treasurer role, Labour said Sunak could not claim to stand up for integrity when there was “a billionaire who was a part of Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime being put in charge of drumming up donations”.
The fact that the Tories are largely funded by fascists, bigoted and corrupt and odious nutters is no shock when you think about it.
Agree
Fascists about in droves
Cant have sexism, racism, hate crimes especially when we are so tolerant , diverse and inclusive
All tories should be executed along with their bigoted corrupt and odious nutters...hang them high !!!
Fascists about in droves
Cant have sexism, racism, hate crimes especially when we are so tolerant , diverse and inclusive
All tories should be executed along with their bigoted corrupt and odious nutters...hang them high !!!
At my age I have lived through a few Labour Governments and I can tell you that it was not a pleasant experience. Harold Wilson was a total disaster. Blair was better initially but towards the end, they were awful. Mind you the Tories have been just as bad for the last 4 years. The Cameron years seem a distant memory now.
its a silly way to run a country
one lot destroys what the last lot did
just get a few committees
and have a vote
one lot destroys what the last lot did
just get a few committees
and have a vote
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