Moni Varma
Moni Varma is the managing director and founder of Veetee Rice Company, one of the largest producers of rice in the UK.
Contents
Career
When Varma originally arrived in England in the early 1980s he intended to use in background in steel production in Malawi to start a plant producing reinforcement mesh. However, his relatives in northern India had other ideas and wanted to sell rice in Britain and wanted Varma to help with contacts.
In 1987 Veetee Rice Company was set up and currently has a turnover of £80 million.[1]
Letter to the Telegraph
On 1 April 2015 Varma was one of 103 business leaders who wrote to the Telegraph praising the British Conservative Party's economic policies and claiming a Labour government would 'threaten jobs and deter investment' in the UK.[2]
Varma is a former Labour supporter who is now a Conservative backer.[3]
Israel Advocacy
In October 2015, Varma signed a letter in The Guardian along with more than 150 people drawn from the arts and politics. The letter launched Culture for Coexistence, an organisation that opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.[4]
Controversies
Suing Mittal
In 2011 it was announced Varma planned to sue his former friend and Britain's richest man Lakshmi Mittal for allegedly going back on a multi-million dollar agreement to pay fees to Varma for helping to secure an oil deal in 2006 with Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president. At the time, Mittal dismissed the claim saying the claim will be defended vigorously.[5]
In 2013 the case was resolved at the 'eleventh hour' with an out-of-court settlement.[6]
Donations
| Date | Name of donor | Amount | Donated to | Subsidiary (parties only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23/05/2001 | Moni Varma | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Central Party |
References
- ↑ Bob Sherwood and Melissa East UK rice king makes a name for himself Financial Times, 16 August 2011, accessed 1 April 2015
- ↑ Peter Dominiczak, 100 business chiefs: Labour threatens Britain's recovery, Telegraph, 7 April 2015.
- ↑ Ian Dunt Labour's surrender to big business means it's now at its mercy Politics, 1 April 2015, accessed 8 April 2015.
- ↑ Harriet Sherwood, 'Star authors call for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue rather than boycotts', The Guardian, 22 October 2015, accessed 23 October 2015
- ↑ Rajeev Syal Lakshmi Mittal sued by former friend over Nigerian oil deal Guardian, 23 June 2011, accessed 1 April 2015
- ↑ Harriet Dennys City Diary: Lakshmi Mittal settles oil deal feud with former friend Moni Varma Telegraph, 6 March 2013, accessed 1 April 2015
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 1 April 2015
