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Robert Jenrick has had quite the political transformation of late.
In recent months, the erstwhile One Nation Conservative has had photo-ops at the Texas border and lectured on mass migration at the Heritage Foundation, the uber-conservative think tank that has been paying Liz Truss to give speeches.
Jenrick, who voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 Referendum, even popped up at the ‘PopCons’ this week to say that his own Government has “betrayed the promise of Brexit”.
Plenty has been written about Jenrick’s leadership ambitions – including in the New Statesman this week – but less has been said about who is bankrolling the former Immigration Minister’s videos and globe-trotting.
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In the past month alone, Jenrick has accepted £40,000 from two companies – one owned by an Israeli billionaire, the other by an Australian hedge fund scion.
Both firms gave more money to Jenrick than they made in profits over the last two financial years, raising concerns from transparency campaigners about the use of opaque companies to funnel money into British politics.
Via Liberia
In early April, Jenrick received a £35,000 donation from a company called Quantum Pacific Corporation UK Ltd. Never heard of them? You’re not alone.
The company doesn’t seem to have a website, but it does have a LinkedIn page.
Companies House records show that Quantum Pacific Corporation UK is ultimately owned by Gladebrooke Holdings Ltds, a company incorporated in Liberia.
A bit more digging reveals that Quantum Pacific Corporation UK is part of Idan Ofer’s $6.5 billion energy, shipping and mining empire.
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Oder owns 100% of Quantum Pacific Corporation UK, as well as a slew of companies with similar names in secretive jurisdictions such as Gibraltar, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands. Quantum Pacific Group’s interests include oil and gas exploration.
On 30 April, Jenrick registered a £5,000 donation from a company called Firefly Digital Limited. In September, it filed dormant company accounts with Companies House, showing assets of just £1 and no profits.
Firefly Digital is ultimately owned by super-rich Australian hedge fund manager Hilton Nathanson, who also donated £5,000 to Michael Gove last year.
‘Something Seriously Wrong With the Rules’
Transparency campaigners have raised concerns that both Oder and Nathanson used companies to donate to Jenrick – and that both companies made little, if any, UK profits.
“The law is intended to provide transparency and controls over the provenance of funds in UK politics, yet it is increasingly clear it does neither sufficiently,” Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International, told Byline Times.
“That it can be so hard to identify where corporate donors’ money comes from shows there’s something seriously wrong with the rules.”
He suggested that, as a “minimum”, businesses should only be able to donate if they can cover “these costs from profits generated in the UK within the last two years”.
The Electoral Commission has previously called for electoral law to be changed to prevent companies donating more money than they have made in the UK.
Jenrick has history with some of his new donors.
He has described Idan Ofer as a “family friend” after concerns were ra