The British government said it was examining meetings between the Russian embassy and leading figures in the campaign to leave the EU, even as one of those under scrutiny laughed off the claims as a full-scale witch hunt.
Arron Banks, a businessman who bankrolled a prominent Brexit campaign, has defended his meetings with Russia’s ambassador to the UK.
Mr Banks, who was co-founder of the Leave. EU campaign, was questioned by British parliamentarians on Tuesday about his links with Russia amid claims that Moscow had meddled in the 2016 Brexit vote.
The 52-year-old, who was one of the UK Independence Party’s largest donors, met ambassador Alexander Yakovenko three times between 2015 and 2016.
Responding to questions from the MPs investigating fake news, Mr Banks said: “If the French ambassador called up and asked to meet you for lunch, you’d go. It would be nice.
“What I’m saying is, we’ve now got a full-scale Russian witch hunt going on, but before that it wasn’t an issue.”
Relations between the UK and Russia are at their lowest point in decades since the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury in March.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid revealed on Monday before Mr Banks' appearance in front of the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that his Russian links were being examined by ministers from two separate government departments.
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Read more:
Brexit backer faces quiz over Russia links
UK probes Russian social media influence in Brexit vote
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Mr Banks had cancelled his scheduled appearance at the hearing. However, he changed his mind after newspapers revealed over the weekend two further undisclosed meetings with the ambassador.
Reports in The Sunday Times and The Observer said Mr Banks and his colleague Andy Wigmore, who also appeared before the committee, met Mr Yakovenko in November 2016 to discuss potential business opportunities involving gold mines in Russia.
Mr Banks said there was “no definitive evidence” of a conspiracy with Russian officials, but admitted to giving them the telephone number for US President Donald Trump’s transition team before his inauguration.
The millionaire entrepreneur also dismissed allegations by whistle-blower Brittany Kaiser, who said he had illegally used personal data belonging to clients of his insurance companies Eldon and GoSkippy for the Brexit campaign.
He said: “I like to think I'm an evil genius with a white cap who controls all of democracy, but clearly that's not true.”
Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Ms Kaiser had previously told the committee that data had been misused between Leave. EU, UKIP and Mr Banks’ insurance companies during the Brexit referendum campaign.
The disgraced data-mining company Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of illegally harvesting Facebook profiles to sway the US election and the Brexit vote, pitched for work with Leave. EU, but Mr Banks said the company was not involved with the Leave. EU campaign.
"We had two or three meetings with them and it became clear to me that — as is true in a lot of politics — there is a lot of sizzle and sometimes not a lot of substance," he said.
Mr Banks confirmed to the committee that he had been introduced to Cambridge Analytica by former Trump aide Steve Bannon.
The insurance tycoon and Mr Wigmore, Leave. EU’s director of communications, were grilled by MPs about the campaign’s use of “fake news” in the lead up to the vote.
In an apparent buoyant mood throughout the questioning, Mr Banks said he had been happy during the campaign to “lead journalists up the garden path”.
Mr Wigmore said: "The piece of advice that we got, right from the beginning, was remember referendums are not about facts, it's about emotion and you have got to tap into that emotion."
Having promised “fireworks” at the hearing, Mr Banks took regular potshots at individual members of the committee, which he claimed was made up of Remain voters.
Asked whether he would campaign again in the event of a second referendum, he said: "If I had my time again, I probably wouldn't have done this in the first place."
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
