Dominic Raab accepted £25,000 from a former Russian banker whose money had been rejected by the Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation.
The deputy prime minister’s local party was given the five-figure sum by Dmitry Leus earlier this year. Mr Raab declared the donations made to the Esher and Walton Conservative Association for ‘campaigning costs’ on the Commons register of interests in July.
Mr Leus was found guilty of money laundering and jailed in Russia in 2004 – but the conviction was later overturned and he claims the prosecution was politically motivated.
Dominic Raab accepted £25,000 from a former Russian banker whose money had been rejected by the Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation
The businessman made a £100,000 donation to the Prince’s Foundation last year but it was returned after it was rejected by the charity’s ethics committee.
After the money was initially received, Prince Charles wrote to Mr Leus to thank him for ‘very generously’ deciding to support the charity. After the ethics committee raised questions about the provenance of the money, the cash was returned.
He was born in Turkmenistan and has since been granted permanent British residency. Additionally, he holds Russian and Israeli citizenships.
He lives with his wife, 51 year old and four of their children in Surrey. His donations to British charities include those in education or health have reached millions.
After the money was initially received, Prince Charles wrote to Mr Leus to thank him for ‘very generously’ deciding to support the charity. The ethics committee raised doubts about the source of the money and the cash was later returned.
On his foundation’s website, he describes himself as an ‘established and successful businessman within the finance and investment industries in England and overseas’.
A spokesman for Mr Raab last night said: ‘Mr Leus had a wrongful conviction overturned on appeal. Before accepting, professional due diligence was done. Like all donations, it was properly and transparently declared and complies fully with the law.’
Regarding the donation to Mr Raab’s local party, a spokesman for Mr Leus said he had ‘simply responded to what was presented as a need for funding in his local area’.