Alexander Temerko
Alexander Temerko is a wealthy Russian businessman and energy industry investor whose company Offshore Group Newcastle (OGN) constructs oil and gas platforms and builds foundations for offshore wind turbines.
Temerko is Director of Business Development and Deputy Chairman of the OGN Board. [1]
Contents
Conservative Party donor
Temerko is one of the Conservative Party's biggest donors, reportedly donating a total of £208,500 in the two years to September 2013. This includes £104,500 worth of contributions in the first quarter of 2013, making him the eighth biggest donor for the period. His company OGN donated a further £139,655[2] (117,300 of this in the second quarter). [3]
The level of Temerko's donations have secured him direct access to Prime Minister David Cameron through the PM's Leader's Group. Since 2012 Temerko has attended two of this donor club's elite events and in 2013 reportedly bought a bust of David Cameron for £90,000.[4] According to electoral commission reports, since they began donating in February 2012, Temerko and the company have given at least £537,655 to the Tory party.[5]
A seating plan of the Conservative Party's Black and White Ball, in February 2014, was leaked to the Guardian in October 2014. The party, which guests pay between £450 and £1000 for a ticket, seats diners with the minister most relevant to them. The report revealed that Temerko was sat on a table with the then energy minister, Michael Fallon and James Wharton and Alun Cairns, who are MPs of constituencies where OGN offshore wind farms have been proposed and have both benefited from donations directly from Temerko. [5]
Political donations
Recorded by the Electoral Commission:
| Date | Name of donor | Amount | Donated to | Subsidiary (parties only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/02/2012 | Alexander Temerko | £10,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 09/07/2012 | Alexander Temerko | £27,250.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 20/12/2012 | Alexander Temerko | £50,750.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 28/02/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £14,500.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 28/02/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £90,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 16/05/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £16,000.00 | Conservative Party | Cities of London & Westminster |
| 30/07/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Conservative Party | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| 30/07/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £600.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 11/11/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £10,000.00 | Mr James Wharton MP | |
| 13/11/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Mr Michael Ellis MP | |
| 25/10/2013 | Alexander Temerko | £900.00 | Conservative Party | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| 05/02/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Mr Michael Ellis MP | |
| 17/03/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Mr James Wharton MP | |
| 26/03/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Mr Guto Bebb MP | |
| 28/03/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,880.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 28/03/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £25,380.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 07/01/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £10,000.00 | Conservative Party | Cities of London & Westminster |
| 28/03/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £2,970.00 | Conservative Party | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| 12/05/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £1,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 07/01/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £7,000.00 | Conservative Party | Newcastle Upon Tyne Central |
| 12/05/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Conservative Party | Vale of Glamorgan |
| 10/07/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £1,000.00 | Conservative Party | Berwick upon Tweed |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £4,000.00 | United & Cecil Club | |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £3,800.00 | United & Cecil Club | |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £3,800.00 | United & Cecil Club | |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £4,000.00 | United & Cecil Club | |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £5,000.00 | Conservative Party | North Swindon |
| 10/12/2014 | Alexander Temerko | £3,400.00 | Conservative Party | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
Views
In September 2013 Temerko became the first high-profile investor to publicly criticise the government's green energy policies in what The Independent deemed 'an unprecedented attack' on George Osborne, David Cameron and Ed Davey. He accused the trio of squandering an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of revenues by scaring off desperately-needed investors in the UK offshore wind industry.
Temerko called the Coalition's approach to energy policy 'hypocritical', arguing that Cameron should honour his pledge to 'lead the greenest government ever'.
By quarter 3 of 2013 OGN's donation to the Tory party had dropped significantly to £31,720. [7] Temerko himself only donated £5,600.[8]
Lobbying firms
Temerko's OGN Group is listed as a client of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs as of 4 February 2014 and previously employed Gardant Communications. [9]
Affiliations
- Russian oil giant Yukos - served as deputy to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a political opponent of Vladimir Putin jailed by a Russian court in May 2005, released in 2013
- David Cameron's Conservative Party donor vehicle the Leader's Group
- EnQuest and founder and CEO Amjad Bseisu
Resources
- Holly Watt, The Tory Leader's Group donor club: 'A chance for like-minded people to talk' Guardian, 4 May 2015, accessed 5 May 2015.
Notes
- ↑ Board of Directors, undated, accessed 19 September 2013
- ↑ Tom Bawden, Tory donor knocks wind out of Coalition green energy ‘sales’, The Independent, 18 September 2013
- ↑ Conservative Party donors revealed for Q2 2013, SearchTheMoney.com, Published: 2013-08-13 10:22:12 UTC
- ↑ Jason Groves, Revealed: The £43m paid by elite group of donors for access to top Tories including David Cameron, Daily Mail, 23 January 2014, acc 4 February 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Simon Goodley, Melanie Newman and Nick Mathiason Tycoons mix with top Tories at fundraising ball in London The Guardian, 12 October 2014, accessed 14 October 2014
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 24 February 2015
- ↑ City Diary: Helena Morrissey to rescue the careers of 'lost middle' women, Harriet Dennys | Telegraph, Nov 14, 2013
- ↑ Conservative Party donors revealed for Q3 2013, searchthemoney.com, Published: 2013-11-13 11:29:54 UTC, acc 5 Feb 2014
- ↑ Current Register 1st September 2013 - 30th November 2014 Bell Pottinger, APPC, acc 4 February 2014
