World Holocaust Forum Foundation

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UK company and charity linked to Moshe Kantor; dissolved after Russia sanctions

World Holocaust Forum Foundation
Type Private company limited by guarantee; registered charity (dissolved)
Logo
Founded International forums from 2005; UK company 5 March 2021
Founder(s) Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Dissolved 1 August 2023 (Companies House); removed from charity register 4 August 2023
Registration ID
Status
Headquarters
Location Third Floor, 20 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7AN
Area served
Services
Registration
Key people Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Ganna Kantor
Israel Meir Lau
Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley
Website https://worldholocaustforum.org/
Remarks


The World Holocaust Forum Foundation (company number 13248204; charity number 1194512) was a UK private company limited by guarantee and a registered charity associated with the international Holocaust commemoration project founded by Russian-Israeli-British businessman Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (also known as Moshe Kantor). The UK company was incorporated on 5 March 2021, entered on the charity register on 18 May 2021, dissolved at Companies House on 1 August 2023 and removed from the charity register on 4 August 2023.[1][2]

The international “Let My People Live!” forums, organised under the same name from 2005, gathered heads of state at events in Kraków, Kyiv, Prague/Terezín and Jerusalem. The UK vehicle was wound up after Kantor was designated under the UK Russia sanctions regime in April 2022. The Charity Commission opened an inquiry, removed him as a trustee, disqualified him from charity office for life and concluded the charity had “no viable future”.[3]

UK company and charity

WORLD HOLOCAUST FORUM FOUNDATION was a PRI/LBG/NSC company (private limited by guarantee, no share capital, ‘Limited’ exemption). SIC code 85590 (other education not elsewhere classified). Registered office: Third Floor, 20 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7AN, an address associated with law firm Withers. No accounts were filed. The last confirmation statement was made on 4 March 2022. Dissolution was by compulsory strike-off after a first Gazette notice on 7 February 2023.[1][4][5]

The Charity Commission recorded objects including “promoting mental and moral improvement by remembering and reflecting upon the Holocaust, advancing the education of the public in relation to the Holocaust, and promoting religious and racial harmony by commemorating the Holocaust.” Memorandum and articles dated 4 March 2021 were amended on 10 May 2021.[2]

Third Sector reported in April 2022 that a spokesperson for Withers said work at the UK foundation had “never got off the ground.” The later inquiry report recorded about £5,000 in assets, donated by Kantor and held in the charity’s name by the law firm that handled registration; there was no bank account and no other income.[5][6]

Directors

Companies House officers
Name Role Appointed Resigned Notes
Ganna Kantor Director 5 March 2021 — British; born May 1982; only officer not recorded as resigned before strike-off
Viatcheslav (Moshe) Kantor Director 5 March 2021 14 April 2022 Israeli nationality on the register; born September 1953; sanctioned 6 April 2022
Israel Meir Lau Director 5 March 2021 4 May 2022 Former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel; born June 1937; resident Israel
Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley Director 5 March 2021 6 April 2022 British Conservative peer; occupation given as investment banker

<source: Companies House officers list.[7] />

Leigh’s resignation was filed the day Kantor was designated. Kantor’s termination was filed 30 August 2022 as effective 14 April 2022. Lau’s termination was filed 6 May 2022.[4]

International project

The foundation’s own site states that Moshe Kantor founded the World Holocaust Forum Foundation in 2005 to support Holocaust remembrance and to fight antisemitism, “negationism” and intolerance. It organised international forums titled “Let My People Live!”:[8][9]

  • 2005 – Kraków / Auschwitz-Birkenau, 60th anniversary of liberation
  • 2006 – Kyiv, 65th anniversary of Babi Yar
  • 2010 and 2015 – further European forums (including Prague / Terezín in 2015)
  • 23 January 2020 – Fifth World Holocaust Forum, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism”

The site said the foundation had offices in Moscow, Geneva and Jerusalem and promoted laws criminalising Holocaust denial and documentary production using German and Russian archives.[10][9]

The 2020 Jerusalem event assembled around 40–50 heads of state and dignitaries, including Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, Mike Pence, Prince Charles and German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, under the auspices of Israeli president Reuven Rivlin and in partnership with Yad Vashem and the European Jewish Congress. Kantor told the forum that more than 80 per cent of European Jews felt unsafe and that “at this rate in only 30 years there could be no Jews in Europe.” He praised Britain’s antisemitism taskforce and said Russia had “maybe the lowest rates of antisemitism due to a very uncompromising, long term policy”.[11][12]

Controversy over the 2020 forum

Polish president Andrzej Duda refused to attend after he was denied a speaking slot while Putin spoke. The BBC reported that the event was organised by the foundation “whose founder Dr Moshe Kantor is close to Russia's President Vladimir Putin,” and that Poland claimed Kantor’s ties helped give priority to the Russian narrative of the war. Putin told the forum that death camps were “operated not just by Nazis but by their henchmen in various countries,” widely read as a swipe at Poland. The Times of Israel wrote that Putin was “the dominant presence” and that the Yad Vashem gathering was “underwritten by the Russian billionaire Moshe Kantor.”[13][14][15]

Sanctions and Charity Commission inquiry

On 6 April 2022 the UK designated Kantor under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, imposing an asset freeze. The Foreign Office described him as chairman of the coordinating board of Acron, a fertiliser producer in a sector of strategic significance to the Russian government, and said he benefited from supporting Moscow.[16][17]

The Commission opened an inquiry on 13 April 2022 after Kantor did not resign, suspended him, and barred remaining trustees from parting with property without consent. Parallel inquiries covered the Kantor Foundation and Kantor Charitable Foundation. In May 2022 he was removed as a trustee of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation and thereby automatically disqualified from other charity trusteeships. An interim manager was later appointed to transfer remaining funds to an unconnected charity with similar purposes.[16][3][18]

Publishing the inquiry report on 14 December 2023, the Commission said Kantor was responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement, had failed to co-operate, and was disqualified from holding office in a charity for life. Head of compliance Joshua Farbridge said: “The commission is clear that designated persons cannot legally act as trustees… Our inquiry concluded that, subsequent to Dr Kantor’s designation, the charity had no viable future and should be wound-up.”[3][18]

The EU later lifted some sanctions on Kantor in March 2025; the UK maintained restrictions and in April 2025 added a director-disqualification sanction. The European Jewish Congress called the original UK designation “misguided and lacks any factual or evidence-based merit.”[17]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Companies House, WORLD HOLOCAUST FORUM FOUNDATION overview Companies House, accessed 9 September 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Charity Commission, Charity Inquiry: World Holocaust Forum Foundation GOV.UK, 14 December 2023 (withdrawn 15 December 2025).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Charity Commission, Sanctioned trustee removed and charity closed down following investigation GOV.UK, 14 December 2023 (withdrawn 15 December 2025).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Companies House, WORLD HOLOCAUST FORUM FOUNDATION filing history Companies House, accessed 9 September 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Third Sector, Regulator probes three charities linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Third Sector, 22 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Third Sector, Regulator closes holocaust charity and imposes lifetime ban on trustee Third Sector, 14 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Companies House, WORLD HOLOCAUST FORUM FOUNDATION people Companies House, accessed 9 September 2026.
  8. ↑ World Holocaust Forum Foundation, Founder worldholocaustforum.org, accessed 9 September 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 World Holocaust Forum Foundation, About the Foundation worldholocaustforum.org, accessed 9 September 2026.
  10. ↑ World Holocaust Forum Foundation, Introduction worldholocaustforum.org, accessed 9 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Moshe Kantor, Educate, legislate, enforce: Full text of Moshe Kantor’s Holocaust Forum speech The Times of Israel, 23 January 2020.
  12. ↑ Oliver Holmes, Israel: world leaders warned of growth of antisemitism at Holocaust event The Guardian, 23 January 2020.
  13. ↑ BBC News, Holocaust row seethes as leaders gather in Israel BBC News, 22 January 2020.
  14. ↑ David Horovitz, Among dozens of world leaders in Jerusalem, Putin proves the dominant presence The Times of Israel, 23 January 2020.
  15. ↑ Haaretz, via World Holocaust Forum Foundation, World leaders descend on Israel for Holocaust memorial 21 January 2020.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Charity Commission, Commission suspends sanctioned trustee of World Holocaust Forum Foundation GOV.UK, 22 April 2022 (withdrawn 14 December 2023).
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Jerusalem Post, EJC elects Moshe Kantor for fifth term despite sanctions over Vladimir Putin ties The Jerusalem Post, 21 May 2025.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Independent, Holocaust charity shut down after sanctioned trustee disqualified by watchdog The Independent, 14 December 2023.
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