For almost a decade, Alexander Temerko, who forged a career at the top of the Ru...
LONDON - For almost a decade, Alexander Temerko, who forged a career at the top of the Russian arms industry and had connections at the highest levels of the Kremlin, has been an influential figure in British politics. He’s one of the Conservative Party’s major donors. He counts Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to be Britain’s next PM, among his friends.
Temerko revealed himself to be a supporter of Johnson’s bid to lead Britain out of the EU, describing the 2016 public vote to leave the bloc as a “revolution against bureaucracy.” He praised senior Russian security officials, including the current and former heads of the Federal Security Service , successor to the KGB, and proudly recalled his past work with Russia’s Defence Ministry.
Johnson’s press secretary Lee Cain didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment for this article. The Conservative Party said only that “donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and fully comply with the law.” One of Temerko’s former business partners in Russia, Leonid Nevzlin, said Temerko had long-standing ties with Russian security agencies, but declined to say whether he believes those ties remain active. Nevzlin and Temerko were shareholders in oil firm Yukos, before Putin’s government seized control of the company.
In recent weeks, as Johnson’s campaign gathered pace, Temerko has appeared to distance himself from his friend. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph in June, Temerko said he was switching support from Johnson to his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, over Johnson’s apparent willingness to take Britain out of the EU without securing an agreement over the terms of the withdrawal.
“We know the Kremlin seeks to disrupt, destabilize and influence our democracy in a number of ways. We must have complete confidence that the close relationships between Conservative politicians and Russian business people with ties to the Putin regime are above board and free from Kremlin influencing operations. The fact that an ex Tory MP who is running Johnson’s leadership campaign is employed by Mr Temerko is extraordinary.
Those comments about a new political era chimed with remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with the Financial Times in June, Putin trumpeted the rise of national populist movements in Europe and the United States, saying that “the liberal idea has become obsolete.” Putin has rarely commented directly on Brexit, which he says is a matter for the British people.
“He knew the Russian ambassadors and consuls of every country,” this former business partner said. Temerko said he knew many but not all of them.When Khodorkovsky was arrested and jailed on fraud charges in October 2003, Temerko was the only Yukos shareholder who remained in the country to negotiate with the Kremlin. The remaining shareholders fled fearing they would face arrest.
Temerko’s donations translated into access. In 2014, he was appointed by the local branch of the party as a vice-president of the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association, which delivered even greater opportunity to mix with leading Tories. Temerko also became part of Conservative Party donor club The Leader’s Group, where £50,000 in annual membership fees grants access to the prime minister and other senior ministers at dinners, cocktail receptions and other events.
One of them is Wharton, a former Conservative MP who is overseeing Johnson’s leadership campaign, at the same time as being a paid adviser to the power firm Aquind Ltd where Temerko is a director. In June 2013, Wharton put forward the parliamentary bill that first called for a referendum on Britain’s EU membership.
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