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The 2013 Brompton Road tube station sale - a cavalcade of incompetence or From Russia with Love?

By bristol_news - 1st Jun 2021, 12:00 am

What this research shows:

  • A) There was only ever going to be one buyer of the former tube station at Brompton Road and that was Putin-backed oligarch Dmytro Firtash
  • B) Due Diligence on Firtash was either grossly incompetent with the outcoming posing a threat to national security or deliberate and dangerous and the public must be told why
  • C) Outsourcing Due Diligence to an 'estate agent' when it involved a £53m heritage asset smacks of political interference - most likely by the Mayor of London's office
  • D) Total neglect of any National Security consideration in the sale suggests either incompetence or premeditation
  • E) Firtash had put more than £1m in a company linked to Lords, MPs and now a Cabinet minister - no one even bothered to search Google
  • F) The FBI issued an arrest warrant for Firtash TWICE - before the final sale documents were exchanged - but apparently no one in government had any idea they were selling a tube station to an internationally wanted man
  • G) Firtash has been detained in Vienna for the last seven years and is fighting his arrest and extradition. He may seek to 'develop houses at the station' if he escapes justice but he was planning nothing, building nothing and doing nothing at the Brompton Road site - why did he need TWO mortgages? One in 2016 on the eve of Brexit and the other in 2018 ostensibly to cover up the name of the first mortgage lender
  • H) David Rowland (Banque Haviland - 1st lender + Brooksford Overseas - 2nd lender) is a multi-million pound Tory Party donor runs a 'family owned and run bank' from which he pours a fortune into the Tory Party. Why of all the lenders in the world does Firtash 'choose Rowland' - anyone interested in learning the reason?
  • I) Firtash's Power of Attorney is Denis Gorbunenko. So it would be fair to say he's get his hands on Firtash's mortgages first as POA. When the Financial Services Authority investigated him for 8 months in relation to his taking over brokers Seymour Pierce they deemed him totally unsuitable
  • J) The timing of the 1st mortgage (eve of Brexit campaigning) and the fact it was covered up by the same person who lent it initially - suggest 'something nefarious could well be going on' - isn't it time for the National Crime Agency or Interpol to find out?

New Information

Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Defence

Lists the payments made by Dmytro Firtash 'representatives' that made up the £53m figure that he paid for Brompton Road former tube station. It is assumed the final payment (£11m) was a mortgage that he received from Banque Haviland (ex Tory Party Treasurer David Rowland's family bank in Luxembourg) because the date tallies up to the date (March 2016) on the Land Registry documents for the Brompton Road property.

What is really odd is Brompton Road then goes on to register a Deed of Priorities on the property and the Banque Haviland mortgage 'disappears' and is replaced by a 'supposedly mysterious' offshore company Brooksford Overseas which gives Firtash a mortgage for this property in 2018. The assumption is the mortgage is for the same amount as it 'knocks the Banque Haviland' charge off the Land Registry documents and replaces it with Brooksford Overseas. The only thing is Brooksford Overseas is owned by the same David Rowland so his motives in 'switching mortgage names' for Brompton Road ought to be called into question at the very least.

Then there is the clause inside the Treasury rules which allows the property to be sold to be sold to a "special purchaser" rather than put openly on the market in the most transparent way possible. Was selling it this way how the government got around selling it to a known National Security risk?

Old London Underground Company & Boris Johnson

In 2011 the Old London Underground Company (Ajit Chambers) put forward proposals suggesting London should capitalise on its underground assets. One was the former Brompton Road tube station which had been closed since 1934 and during the Second World War it was used as a command centre for the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft brigade (1). Bloomberg reported that Chambers had met Mayor Boris Johnson to discuss his plan to turn 26 unused London subway stations and bomb shelters (2) into shops and tourist attractions. He said he "agreed to provide more information on potential sites, costs and the work needed to convert the stations" (3), according to an e-mail from Johnson's office. In December of that year in a Ask the Mayor public forum Chambers asks Boris Johnson whether his office would commit to support his plan (4), with Brompton Rd being the first identified property. Boris Johnson goes on record and says he supports the bid to redevelop the tube, praises Ajit Chambers for his entrepreneurial spirt, but adds a codicil that 'it should not cost the taxpayer a penny and that Transport for London and his office should be satisfied about the health and safety and financing details in Chambers proposal before proceeding.' In the video Mr Chambers says "Mott MacDonald has already done the health and safety review on the first site; they are ready to go down there and fix the health and safety with my first investor's money."

By April 2012, the BBC reported that the Old London Underground company was working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which owns many of the stations, to lease the sites Chambers called 'Ghost Stations.' Chambers had also been in talks with the Greater London Authority and Transport for London (TfL), which owned the tube station track and platforms. Both bodies said they were in favou of the Chambers proposal 'in principle.' "provided suitably detailed and properly funded plans were put forward"(5)

The MoD told chambers its Estate (sites) including Brompton Road, were under review. "And if we do decide to sell assets they will be sold under a competitive tendering process to get the best possible price for the department." There had been discussions with Chambers about the idea and the sale of Brompton Road in 2011, but a second meeting had been cancelled (6). Now it is worth noting the station itself is sometimes used for training purposes and is therefore not a vacant site," the MoD spokesperson added.

In April, 2012 City AM reported that "Ajit Chambers had been in touch to say he had made a £25m offer to buy the former Brompton Road station and that he is partnered by a billionaire investor. He confirmed he had the support of Mayor Boris Johnson for the scheme provided there was no need for public funding, which there was not.

Jones Lang LaSalle appointed to find a buyer for the site

The Daily Telegraph reported (29th, July 2013) the "MOD has announced it will sell the 28,000 square foot Brompton Road station closed in 1934 as part of a cost cutting exercise and the MOD expects to make more than £20 million from the sale" (7). It cites Simon Hodson, residential land director at estate agents Jones Lang LaSalle as saying "its a prime central London site and we are expecting a high level of interest." (Property Week: 30th July 2013) said "Jones Lang LaSalle has been appointed to sell the building for the Defence Infrastructure Organization, which manages land and property for the MOD." Going on to say "the DIO is pleased to be working with Jones Lang LaSalle to find an appropriate buyer for the site" (8). "We are expecting a high level of interest from a variety of purchasers when we bring this to market in September" (9), Hodson concluded.

In 2012 the Ministry of Defence ran a competitive tender to find a private sector partner on a £400m contract to partner is selling off excess MOD estate.  Five bids were received - including one from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). The JLL bid was unsuccessful and did not make the final three from which the MOD/DIO partner was selected (Telereal Trillium/KPMG/Mace - Serco/DTZ/Bechtel - Capita/URS/PAConsulting (10). Jones Lang LaSalle LOST and failed to make the final three. So JLL was NOT the MOD/DIO's private sector partner which makes their appointment to sell Brompton Road tube look a little strange.

Jones Lang LaSalle "began providing services to Mayor of London and London and Partners (L&P) in mid-July 2013"(11) L&P is the international trade, promotion and investment agency for London which has key members of the Mayor of London's inner circle on board (12). The JLL team developed potential investment projects for the UAE government. Created interest in London within at least 6 major Chinese investment houses. Facilitated a deal to purchase Royal Wharf and reignited interest in London development from the Kuwait Investment Authority. JLL were also busy planning the Mayor's team visit to MPIM, in Cannes that year (where they advertised the Mayoral link in sponsored literature that year).

So, we're going to make what is a reasonable assumption here - the DIO/MOD may have technically appointed Jones Lang LaSalle but it was the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's team calling the shots and asking for them to be appointed to sell Brompton Road. So, let's think about why this may have occurred next.

Parliament's Defence Committee contact the Ministry of Defence about the Brompton Road sale

"The Defence Committee has received an email suggesting that the MoD proposal to sell the Old Underground Station, 206 Brompton Road, to the detriment of alternative plans by The Old London Underground Company to develop the network of redundant Underground Stations as a tourist attraction"(13) (This letter dated 11th September, 2013, shows the Defence Committee was already aware - perhaps in some detail - of Ajit Chambers plans to develop the underground network). It goes on to say "the writer further suggests that the sale is not being carried out according to the best value practice laid down by HM Treasury. It would be very helpful to know if the property is indeed being sold, what consideration was given to alternative uses, and the process being used for any sale."

Philip Hammond replied on 23rd September 2013. "I can assure you that the Brompton Road site is being sold in accordance with the normal Departmental process, as mandated by the Treasury to ensure the best value for the public purse. Once the property was identified as surplus to Defence purposes, it was firstly considered for use by other Government Departments. No such use was identified and therefore Brompton Road was placed for sale on the open market (14). It is understood that a representative from the Old London Underground Company, along with other interested parties, visited Brompton Road on September 19th, 2013. Should the Old London Underground Company wish to bid for the site then they are welcome to do so, and they should register their interest with the marketing agent managing the sale, James (typo= Jones) Lang Lasalle." Note the MoD Minister calls Jones Lang LaSalle "a marketing agent managing the sale," he confuses their name, the sale has gone to open market after 'alternative use' has been considered.

National security concerns and Due Diligence on potential buyers

There's apparently no hint of any national security concerns with the former Brompton Road tube station backing on to the London Underground infrastructure network. This is an important point as other disposals of MoD assets were assessed for security concerns. (e.g. Sale of Admiralty Arch will put the Queen at Risk - Daily Telegraph: 10th July, 2015) (15). In the case of Admiralty Arch the following considerations were deemed important - a) Respect and protect the heritage of the building now and in the future b) Enable the potential for public access c) Be prepared to respond to, potential national security implications (16). The UK Security Services were involved in discussions about the Admiralty Arch sale, but seemingly ignored when the Brompton Road former tube station sale occurred. The UK Security Services were involved in discussions in the case of the sale of the Old War Office building where the phrase "the MOD reserved the right (on behalf of the police and security services to search the premises and a right of access to the roof and corner towers for surveillance purposes"(17) was included in the sale proposal

Given that the security services had previously felt the eventual buyer Dmytro Firtash was a UK national security risk and a Cabinet appointment was blocked on the back of this fact (Daily Mail: 15/08/10 MI5 vetoed Security Minister over links to Ukrainian oligarchs') (18) and that Firtash appeared in a Wikileaks cable (19) discussion with the U.S. Ambassador in Kiev, Bill Taylor, admitting he worked with Eurasian mob boss Semion Mogilevich, one of the planet's most wanted men (Ukraine's Firtash questioned over mafia ties: Financial Times 02/12/10) (20) - it would have been natural to assume that Jones Lang LaSalle or the Ministry of Defence or the Defence Infrastructure Organization might have been at least a little bit concerned when he later agreed to buy the former Brompton Road property, though, apparently they were not.

This surprise is borne out by comments in The Times (22/03/14) (21) days after the eventual Brompton Road sale, "Property market sources questioned how the government could sell a site, yards from Harrods that is considered one of the finest development sites in Knightsbridge, to an individual under investigation by the FBI for eight years."

Why is the date of the FBI arrest warrant for Firtash such a big deal?

The FBI indictment of Dmytro Firtash was issued on 21st June 2013 and it was sealed on June 30th, 2013 (22). In the UK it would be reasonable to assume there was a reaction to this indictment. Three Dmytro Foundation (DF Foundation) resign on the 21st June, 2013 - including Dominic Cummings brother-in-law Jack Wakefield, Anthony Fisher and Walsh (23). In the case of Wakefield, he had been a founder member of the 'charity' in 2008 along with Anthony Fisher. His sister-in-law is Mary Wakefield, commissioning editor of The Spectator and she was Boris Johnson's deputy when he was editor of The Spectator before Boris Johnson became Mayor of London (24). Given the dates (exactly the same) it would be a remarkable coincidence if the DF Foundation director resignations were unconnected with the decision of FBI Illnois to indict Firtash for extortion and bribery. Firtash lawyers Dan K. Webb, Elisabeth E. Garden and Matthew Robert Carter are all named at the top of the indictment so Dmytro Firtash would have been made aware of the indictment that was coming (25).The indictment was opened for four days in October 2013 when there was controversy surrounding whether Ukraine would sign an agreement with the EU (26) or not. The indictment then remained sealed until the start of April when the FBI publicly unveiled it (27).

However, we also later learnt the MoD was approached in 2016 by Channel 4 Dispatches, asking if it knew Firtash had an arrest warrant out against him when it sold him Brompton Road (28). In a MoD blog post the MoD vehemently denied they knew the FBI had issued a warrant for his arrest on February 26th, 2014 (29) - one day before the final exchange of contracts. However, it is hard to believe given the fact it had been 'common knowledge' for Guardian reporters in October 2013 that an arrest warrant had been briefly issued. The actions of mass resignation at the DF Foundation back in June means the directors would also have 'received some kind of explanation' and as one of them worked as a freelance for The Spectator as an arts critic (Mary Wakefield's brother) it may well have reached the UK press too.  Then after the arrest when the extradition hearings began in Vienna it emerged that a warrant for his arrest had been issued on February 26th, 2014 (30) and then Firtash was detained on March 12th in Vienna on the back of that warrant. This means it is highly likely that the MoD KNEW an arrest was coming for Firtash when it agreed to an exchange of contracts for the Brompton Road former tube station on Feb 27, 2014. This is something an independent investigation could confirm.

Brompton Road 2013 timeline

Days of Ukraine - Announcement 11th September - it was a 2 day festival celebrating Ukrainian culture paid for by the DF Group (40) (Dmytro Firtash) sponsored by the Mayor of London and the President of Ukraine. Scheduled to take place October 17-19, 2013 - it will involve a series of musical events, art galleries, a banquet/gala at the Natural History Museum, (41) Dmytro Firtash opened the London Stock Exchange and attended  a House of Commons event hosted by the Speaker John Bercow (42) involving MPS and Lords and dignitaries from the Ukrainian side - all paid for by Dmytro Firtash. Someone who has received donations from Dmytro Firtash associated organizations, (43) former Tory Party treasurer Lord Risby, (44)  welcomed the event in his role as head of the British Ukrainian Society (which had Firtash's 'UK ally' Robert Shetler-Jones on the board (45) and often picks up the costs for flights and offices) - a perk also enjoyed by Tory MP John Whittingdale (New Culture Secretary John Whittingdale accepted flights from society with links to controversial oligarch: 13 May 2015)(46), Mr Whittingdale went on a £2,800 trip to Kiev in 2010, “to meet members of the government of Ukraine and opposition”(47). He returned to Ukraine in 2011 as a guest of the society and in his capacity as chair of the British Ukraine All-Party Parliamentary group. That trip cost £1,700 and was to “meet members of the government of Ukraine”. A four-day visit in 2012 to attend a conference in Yalta, Ukraine cost £2,520. He visited the same conference for a £2,680 week-long trip in September last year. Lord Risby is employed by Scythian (Firtash company) and from the end of 2014 by Zander Group an is to this company that we now turn as many Tories in the story and Firtash are all connected to it in some way.

What does Zander Group do?

On one its subsidiaries websites it says it's in the business of soil regeneration (48) but it never seems to have got a lot of work - ever. But had a huge number of investors following the bold claims it made in its annual reports filed at Companies House.

The cast of characters connected to Zander Group

Earl Raymond Benedict Bartholomew Michael Asquith is the person with "Significant Control" over the Zander Group Ltd (49). Earl Asquith has been Zander Group chairman since 2006. He was an FCO counsellor in Kiev (50) (1992-97); First Secretary in the FCO (Moscow 1983-1985) and served in the diplomatic services 1979-1997 in the FCO. Earl Asquith is a member of the Supervisory Council of Group DF (Dmytro Firtash's international group of companies).(51) He holds shares in JKX Oil & Gas (stood down as a director in 2016) and is a Director of the British Ukrainian Society.

One of the earliest investors in LG Antenna Fund (Dec 2003 filing in Companies House) (53) it was run back then by Jacob Rees-Mogg who worked for Lloyd George Management. Professional Adviser (2nd Jan 2003) ran the story "Rees-Mogg to run Lloyd George emerging fund" it states: "Lloyd George Management has launched a global emerging markets fund to be run by Jacob Rees-Mogg, who currently manages the LG Antenna Fund."  (54) "According to reports at the time, the LG Emerging Markets Fund held just 40 stocks and his colleagues described Mr Rees-Mogg as defensive and focused on value."(55) By the end of 2007 (when Mogg leaves to set up Somerset Capital Management with his fellow Lloyd George Management colleagues)(56) LG Antenna Fund owns 133, 334 Zander Group shares. Rupert Bevan (Director and major shareholder of Zander Group) has been a Mayor of Radstock - slap bang in the heart of Rees-Mogg's constituency. He's also linked to Adam Palmer-Dixon the man who sold the Dominic Cummings Samara Airlines story to the British press. (57) Palmer-Dixon's then offices in Vienna (Dixon-Morozov) were no more than 5 minutes' walk from Dmytro Firtash's offices in Vienna.

While in Vienna under 'arrest' the Spanish brought charges against Firtash for money laundering (from 25 November 2016) "Spain seeks extradition for Ukrainian oligarch linked to senior Tories for alleged money laundering."  (58) Yes the charges were later dismissed. But there has been a pattern of numerous cases building up over time all stemming from the same form of accusation which can only lead to one of two conclusions - he's a very unlucky man (59) or there's no smoke without fire (60) and there are many fires burning  (61) in areas where he is doing business.  (62)

Dmytro Firtash - his cash, his clinks to Zander Group

"According to Russian customs documents detailing the trades, Gazprom sold more than 20 billion cubic metres of gas well below market prices to Firtash for several years. The price Firtash paid was so low, Reuters calculates the companies he controlled made more than $3bn on the arrangement"(63). Over the same time period, other documents show, bankers close to Putin granted Firtash credit lines of up to $11bn. "That credit helped Firtash, who backed the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych's successful 2010 bid to become Ukraine's president, to buy a dominant position in the country's chemical and fertilizer industry and expand his influence.  The relationship had great geopolitical value for Putin: Yanukovych ended up stereing the nation away from the West's orbit and towards Moscow's until he was overthrown in February 2014, during the Maidan Revolution" - which is taking place at exactly the same time as the Brompton Road sale (February 2014). Here's Russia's view of the arrangement with Firtash - "The Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said Putin has met Firtash but they are not close acquaintances. He said Russia supplied gas at lower prices to Ukraine because Yanukovych asked for it and Russia wanted to help Ukraine's petrochemical industry. Peskov said the deals were arranged through Firtash because the Ukrainian government asked for it to be done that way" (64)

Firtash's English-speaking 'associate' is Robert Shetler-Jones. As early as 2008 The Guardian reported Shetler-Jones as a 'British businessman who represents a Ukrainian oligarch is paying tens of thousands of pounds in donations to the Tories.' (65) Using Scythian Ltd he made payments to MPs and to Conservative central office in his role as a director. The article from 2008 cites "more than £70,000 has been paid so far," and has the Electoral Commission admitting it is legitimate as it's from an individual and a UK-based company. But it queued the status of Scythian as it appeared to be a dormant company.  Scythian's premises in no 25 Mayfair had Scythian listed as the only occupant. But on the same floor was the DF Foundation and the British Ukrainian Society - Shetler-Jones being a director of them all. The article cited a Panorama programme in which Shetler-Jones gave an interview as Firtash's 'British representative.'

The largest single shareholding of Zander Group (roughly 30% of its total shares) was owned by a Cyprus company called Spadi Trading. And Spadi was owned by Group DF, as in Firtash, in the British Virgin Islands - and is one of the 153 companies worldwide that the U.S. is trying to seize pursuant to its indictment of Firtash  (66) (Spadi's ultimate owner is Robert Shetler-Jones, also a Group DF board member alongside Earl Asquith who sits on the Group DF advisory committee). Spadi also employed Tory Lord Risby (ex Vice Chair of the Conservative Party)  who admitted as much to the Wall Street Journal in 2014 (67).

June 22, 2007, saw the FT run a headline "Divorce casts cloud over tycoon's billions' (68) in which Firtash announced the consolidation of a number of his key assets, including Swiss-registered gas trade RosUkrEnergo, which he owns in partnership with Gazprom, into a new holding called Group DF. The piece cites Robert Shetler-Jones, the groups' chief executive who explained the thinking behind the move, concluding "This is the first step towards possible IPOs," adding that individual companies could be ready for a listing on a major European market within two years." Robert Shetler-Jones becomes a director of the Zander Group (according to Companies House - 21/03/07 and remains a director until April 20 2015) just about the time of this major Group DF reorganization  (69) - moving assets around to slot into the new Firtash multi-billion dollar empire.

JCB boss Sir Anthony Bamford was another investor in Zander Group. Another prominent Brexiteer (in 2016) JCB donated £3.7m to the Tory party over the first 15 years of the century, including £1m from the company and its owners in 2014-15.  (70)  He has remained a consistent Tory Party supporter, with another £1m donation to back the 2017 General Election campaign. (71)  Bamford has funded Boris Johnson to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds (72) for simply making speeches at JCB. And more recently in 2019 during the General Election he repeated the trick with his 'smashing down the Brexit wall to get Brexit done' stunt. Bamford also paid Brexiteer David Davis MP £3,000 an hour to simply be an external advisor (73). But Bamford saw a need to invest in Zander though it does not seem to be logged in his Parliamentary register of interest and investments (74).

Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz - Vantania Holdings

"For 10 years, Cambridge Analytica's parent company's largest shareholder was Vincent Tchenguiz, together with his brother Robert. In 2016, a year after Tchenguiz divested his shares, SCL Group Chair (then not now) Julian Wheatland, was a Tchenguiz employee" (75).

"Tchenguiz used the same holdings company, Wheddon Ltd, to invest both in Cambridge Analytica's parent in the UK and in another privately held UK business whose largest shareholder was Dmytro Firtash." (To buy into a privately held business you normally need the approval of the biggest shareholders, who were Firtash and Earl Asquith, the latter who also works for Firtash). Both Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz are big Tory Party donors. But they are best known for a UK Serious Fraud Office raid and attempted prosecution of them relating to the 2008-09 Icelandic banking industry collapse. (76) The Icelandic bank Kaupthing collapsed and the Tchenguiz brothers were sitting on loans from the bank worth up to 40% of its total capital. Vincent Tchenguiz beat the charges which suggested they looted the bank and won restitution from the UK's Serious Fraud Office when charges were dropped. Many think the SFO badly mishandled the case. (77)

As the obligatory Companies House filing show, Tchenguiz invested in Zander Group in 2005-06 through his Vantania Holdings Ltd; (78) on Sept 15, 2015 Vantania transferred its share to Wheddon Ltd (79) (just after Wheddon had divested its share in SCL Group).

Geoffrey Stuart Pearson

An ex-director of Zander Group, Geoffrey Stuart Pearson, was jailed in Britain for his role in the collapse of Crown Corporation Limited,(80) (later renamed Langbar International) the UK's biggest AIM market fraud (81). At the time the SFO shut down Langbar in 2005, Zander shares were its only investment. Pearson was jailed for misleading the market about £357 million asset value of the company, according to the SFO. Claiming the company had assets held by Banco do Brasil and some assets were being transferred to his company (82) - thereby making it an attractive investment. The judge described it as "fraud on a grand scale with scant regard for the essential integrity of the financial markets or for the inevitable losses and misery caused to investors."

The UK Conservative Party

Earl Asquith, Lord Risby and John Whittingdale MP are all linked through their common interest in Ukraine and by the British Ukrainian Society - mentioned earlier, which picked up expenses for travel and also found ways to make payments to Tory MPs through Scythian (Firtash/Shetler-Jones company). Tory MP Robert Halfon challenged on cash received from associate of Ukrainian tycoon Dmitry Firtash - £40,000 to his constituency office and £27,000 to Conservative Central Office (Independent 18 March 2014) (83). The article quotes Helen Goodman MP who cites that fact the Conservative Party has received nearly £200,000 from associates of Mr Firtash. The defence was it was by a British individual not by a company or Mr Firtash. John Whittingdale took a lead role in Conservative Friends of Russia until it was disbanded. Here he is at a Conservative Friends of Russia event hosted by the Russian Embassy and the ambassador in 2012 (84), also present is Lord Risby who also attended and spoke at the Russian Embassy event. (85)

Former BBC investigative journalist John Sweeney says "Carrie Symonds, the PM's partner, and Whittingdale were fixtures at beanos thrown by the Conservative Friends of Russia, a group set up with the help of Sergey Nalobin, widely suspected of being a Russian spy." (86)

Sweeney goes on to point to Whittingdale's adventurous 'private life' listing a well-orchestrated newspaper cover-up by the Mirror, The Sun, Mail on Sunday and the Independent who all knew about his relationship with a professional dominatrix Olivia King but had not run with it. A gangster with a conviction for firearms was also reportedly visiting Ms King at the same time as Whittingdale and he was trying to sell tapes of King talking about what she did with the then Culture Secretary. (88) The story features in Craig Oliver's book 'Unleashing Demons.' The No 10 media supremo also put to Whittingdale the unreported press interest in a string of Russian girlfriends with one in mind in particular Natalia Lokhanova from Belarus (89) who'd partnered Whittingdale four years earlier and was the daughter of a Soviet military officer. John Whittingdale was also on the organising committee of Group DF's Days of Ukraine (sponsored fully by Firtash) (90).

Carrie Symonds had a long-term relationship with Oliver Haste, who had English and Russian roots and connections with the Tory Bow Group and was encouraged to venture on a journalism career path by The Independent co-founder (her father) Matthew Symonds. Told the Herald Scotland that he was planning to be at the heart of a new launch of Pravda International to target people of a non-conformist political position from a more contrarian position. (91)

Scythian also gave money to Nicholas Soames MP he receives an undisclosed on the Register of Members' Interest for "acting as a strategic adviser to Scythian Limited, which has listed assets of no more £2 since 2006 and has given more than £27,000 to Conservative Central Office," The Independent said in October 2011, also listed were payments of £20,000 per quarter to Pauline Neville Jones who was discussed earlier. (92)

These characters are all over the connections with Firtash and many play a role in the actual sale of the former Brompton Road tube station itself. 

The Sale of Brompton Road moves ever closer

11 September Defence Committee chair James Arbuthnot MP writes to the Minister of Defence Philip Hammond. He seeks a reassurance that the sale process is "being carried out according to the best value practice laid down by HM Treasury." He cites Ajit Chambers' Old London Underground Company and requests a briefing on "the process being used for any sale." (93)

23 September we learn from Philip Hammond's reply that the MoD "sought to offer the property to other government departments. No use was identified so Brompton Road was placed for sale on the open market." (94) It said there was a potential buyer visit to the site on 19 September. It also said Old London Underground Company should register interest with Jones Lang LaSalle.

The Old London Underground sees its bid for Brompton hit the rocks, sabotaged by the influence of Boris Johnson

Byline Times takes up the story: "In his role as Mayor of London, Johnson was also head of Transport for London (TfL), which owned many of the ghost stations. In the unusual case of Brompton Road, TfL only owned the platforms while the MoD owned the rest of the station. (95)

Treasury rules allowed the MoD to dispose of the station at less than market value, taking into account wider value considerations such as economic and social values like heritage and tourism - which exactly matched Ajit Chambers' £25m bid for the station.

Chambers had the support of Vince Cable, then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. He had taken more than 60 MPs to view the site and assess his plans. Chambers had presented his plans to David Cameron at Downing Street and Boris Johnson in City Hall, and his plan (seen by Byline Times) valued the site at £100 million.

Chambers firmly believes the decision to jump to an Open Auction for the Brompton Road property was directly connected to Dmytro Firtash expressing an interest in the property, which was next to a mansion he already owned in Cottage Place.

Chambers told the press "the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, misled Vince Cable in a call about the level of detail and funding for his project. And in the final days before the auction, a Ukrainian man turned up at Chambers apartment and acted in such a threatening manner that Chambers hired a security team and withdrew from the auction." He is now suing TfL and Johnson for malfeasance in public office (96).

What the public domain had learned about Firtash and the Brompton Road sale

  • "Property market sources were shocked that an individual under investigation by the FBI for eight years could be allowed to buy Brompton Road" (The Times: March 22, 2014)
  • Jones Lang LaSalle were principally partnering for disposals and investments with the London Mayor's office NOT with the MoD and DIO so their appointment to manage the sale was 'unusual'
  • In earlier years there had been security service briefings and memos against Dmytro Firtash classifying him as a security risk (Pauline Neville-Jones appointment as a Cabinet minister- 2010)
  • Wikileaks cables showed Dmytro Firtash admitting to U.S. Ambassador Bill Taylor that he had dealings with the Russian mafia Godfather Semion Mogilevich as he had risen to power as an gas industry oligarch
  • There had been an indictment against Firtash in the USA since June 21, 2013
  • The Firtash indictment was opened for four days during October 2013
  • The FBI Illinois/Department of Justice issued a warrant for Firtash's arrest Feb 26 2013 - 1 day before MOD exchanges contracts on Brompton Road
  • But the MOD KNEW NOTHING about Firtash being a unsuitable buyer in any way shape or form.
  • Why was one of the bidders threatened by a Ukrainian 'visitor' days before the sale?
  • Why did Boris Johnson mislead then minister Vince Cable about the Old London Underground bid?

Days of Ukraine event poured a small fortune into Boris Johnson's London in October 2013, one month before Firtash agreed to buy Brompton Road. A 'financial report' by the DF Foundation (soon to rename itself the Firtash Foundation) gave an indication of the amount of money spent by Firtash during the October 2013, 3-day event in London, under the watchful eye of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. In its April 2014 financial report, it said "the financial challenges associated with producing large-scale events saw the Foundation's donor (Firtash) lift his contribution from £70,665 to £1,482,535. It said it has now set up a production company Darda Productions to assist with future events. It outlined details of the event - Parliamentary Launch (17 Oct 2013) - with House of Lords and Parliamentarians in attendance (97) - a gala dinner at the Natural History Museum that evening. Literature Evening at the London Library and a fashion show at the Saatchi Gallery (18 October) culminating with at ethnic fair at the Potters Field Park."

The organising committee for Days of Ukraine included: Dr Simon Franklin (University of Cambridge), Volodymr Khandogiy (Ukrainian ambassador to the UK), Lord Oxford (aka Earl Asquith - Zander Group chair and Group DF Supervisory Council member), Lord Risby (former Tory Party vice chair and Chair of the British Ukrainian Society), and John Whittingdale MP). (98)

October 30, 2013 In his defence against extradition to the United States on the charges laid against him in a Vienna court in 2015, Firtash lawyers revealed an initial request by the United States for his arrest was on October 30th, 2013. They went on to argue that it was directly tied to a trip to Ukraine by an assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, in which she sought to prevent Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from backing out of a promise to sign sweeping political and trade agreements with Europe.

Nuland left Washington on the day the arrest request was submitted to Austria and it was rescinded four days later - a lawyer said. From that point nothing happened in the Indian bribery case until February 26, 2014 when a fresh request for Firtash's arrest was issued (99)- four days after Mr Yanukovych was ousted after months of street protest (known as the Maidan Revolution). 

On the 29 November, 2013, Sky News reported "the abandoned Brompton Road station is reportedly sold to a Ukrainian billionaire, who will convert it into luxury housing." The MoD said "as far as we are concerned the place has been bought and sold," refusing to identify the buyer due to confidentiality agreements and that it expects the sale to be completed in about 2 months.  (100) It said "It is being reported that the station had been sold for £50m to a Ukrainian billionaire." And "The Ministry of Defence and the estate agent (Jones Lang LaSalle) handling the deal declined to comment." Two days earlier My London had reported the sale and extensively quoted Ajit Chambers from the Old London Underground Company. (101) The Irish Times quoted Reuters in its November article about the sale.  (102)

The TR1 form in the Land Registry lists the day JLL (on behalf of the DIO/MoD) exchanged 'pre-contracts' with Michael Spinks (on behalf of Firtash) as 20 November 2013. (103) We'd like to make a really obvious point here for the reader....This meant there were STILL NINETY NINE DAYS before the final exchange of contracts. In this time Jones Lang LaSalle could (and probably did) conduct Due Diligence exercises to discover any serious issues on would be buyers hundreds of times. As we shall see, JLL found NOTHING and believed Dmytro Firtash to be a superb candidate to buy the former Brompton Road station - how strange is that?

Another peculiar incident was the fact that Somerset Capital (Mogg) Cayman Island hedge fund gets a LEI Number to trade on the financial markets on exactly the same day. (104) An odd coincidence. Though its SEC filing suggests it has existed since 2007 - but it does say 'amendment' which suggests this information may have been altered at some point by the filer. The fund has just 7 investors in 2010  (105) same in 2011   same in 2012 same in 2013  (106)  jumps to 18 investors in the fund in 2014 (107)    then leaps to 87 investors in 2015 and the sales more than doubles(108) with 106 investors in the fund in 2016  (109) with sales continuing to explode (minimum £1m requirement to invest BTW). This fund goes stellar after the sale of Brompton Road tube but no one can definitively suggest causation and even correlation might be stretching things. But there are coincidences to explain later as we will demonstrate.

The EuroMaidan 'Revolution' in Ukraine

Literally "Euro Square" it was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with public protests in Independence Square Kyiv. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The protests widened and were driven by the perception of widespread government corruption, abuse of power and violation of human rights in Ukraine. The situation escalated after the violent dispersal of protestors on 30 November, leading to many more protestors joining in. These protests led to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.

There were clashes with police and protests all over Ukraine but centred on Kyiv. Protestors occupied government buildings in many regions of Ukraine. The protests climaxed in mid-February when there was fierce fighting in Kyiv on 18-20 February 2014. As a result of the events, on 21 February 2014 an Agreement on a settlement of the political crisis in Ukraine was signed by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the leaders of the parliamentary opposition under the mediation of the EU and the Russian federation. Shortly after the agreement was signed, Yanukovych and other high ranking Ukrainian government official fled the country (mostly to Russia).

Events in Kyiv quickly descended into the Crimean Crisis and pro-Russian unrest in Eastern Ukraine, leading to the mocked up independence referendum in eastern Ukraine and the tacit occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation (110) and a position of undeclared war that has lasted seven years to date.

The SALE of the former Brompton Road tube station to Dmytro Firtash

When you call up the documentation from the Land Registry on the former Brompton Road tube you establish the date of the sale (Feb 27, 2014) to whom (Dmytro Firtash) the price is (£53,375,000) and there are two additional 'Restrictions' on the property - one is to a company called Brooksford Overseas dated 19-03-18 and another VTB Bank dated 15-3/19. You also learn that the time taken to 'file' the correct documentation about the sale of Brompton Road was rather long (6th May 2014) that's 67 days to register the sale with the appropriate documents. So, all had seemingly not gone smoothly at the buyers end to cause the delay. Firtash was arrested by the Austrian police March 12th, 2014 (111) and released some 9 days later after Vladimir Putin sent a 'judo-linked' friend Vassily Ansimov to bail Firtash out, paying a record bail for him in the history of Austrian justice ($174m) (112) Firtash had to 'stay in Vienna at his home' as a condition of bail - which is where he is now fighting extradition to the USA over extortion and bribery charges.

However, the documents go on to mention a Deed of Priorities was invoked on this property on the 19th March 2018 by which any changes to the charges on the property could be amended. This is to cover things such as switching mortgages normally a fairly innocuous process or some other charge. Overwriting this 'now missing' charge is the mortgage given to Dmytro Firtash on 9th March 2018 by Brooksford Overseas.

What the Deed of Priorities altered was important. On the 15th March 2016 Banque Haviland of Luxembourg gave Dmytro Firtash a mortgage on the Brompton Road property. It was 'registered at the Land Registry on 31 March 2016. The campaign horn sounding the start of the Brexit Referendum had already been blown in February after David Cameron announced a schedule and what was on offer from Brussels. Government leaflets on the referendum had all gone out to millions of people explaining the Brexit Referendum. And early April the two sides in the Referendum hopped on their red buses or private jets and started actively campaigning Remain or Leave. So, the timing of the 'mortgage to Dmytro Firtash' one of the richest oligarchs on the planet is particularly bizarre. And why did he need it when he had not asked anyone to start developing Brompton Road. There were no planners at work. No diggers. No health and safety teams shaping future works. The fact is nothing had happened and Dmytro Firtash was languishing under a type of house arrest in Vienna on charges of extortion and bribery, awaiting possible extradition to the USA. So why did he need a mortgage so badly?

Banque Haviland (Luxembourg) was a family owned and run bank in the hands of David Rowland and his family. He is a multi-million pound donor to individual Conservative MPs, Conservative Central Office and CMEC (Conservative Middle East Council). Of all the bank to select for an eve of Brexit mortgage why a man who was offered the post of Conservative Party treasurer in 2010 and ended up refusing it as (according to Lord Ashcroft) he has too many skeletons in too many closets. So why was the name Banque Haviland and its Luxembourg address effectively REMOVED or HIDDEN on the Brompton Road title deeds and replaced by Brooksford Overseas? If the first mortgage is hunky dory and just business, why the second one which, on paper at least, erases the public acknowledgement of the first.

David Rowland - a multi-million pound donor to the Conservative - was overlooked for the job as Tory Party Treasurer because of his shady past - now more skeletons

Banque Haviland linked to an all-out attack on the Qatari financial system (113) - "The 2017 plan outline, prepared by Banque Havilland, a private Luxembourg-based bank owned by the family of controversial British financier David Rowland, laid out a scheme to drive down the value of Qatar’s bonds and increase the cost of insuring them, with the ultimate goal of creating a currency crisis that would drain the country’s cash reserves" (Leak: UAE planned financial war against Qatar) (114)

Banque Havilland, BPS-Bank to set up FDI Fund in Belarus  (115)  (Sberbank Russia partnership) - from 2011 - the plan was to become the bank which channelled overseas investment into the Belarussian economy in conjunction with one of the top pro-Putin banks Sberbank

How Prince Andrew's tycoon friend and £6m Tory party donor David Rowland hatched a plot to become Kim Jong Un's private banker - (116) During the period Prince Andrew was working as a business ambassador for this country, the Rowlands befriended him and helped him out financially, loaning the use of his jet. It also led to Prince Andrew using his Royal status to open doors for the Rowlands around the world - and North Korea was one example

The Secret 'Project Longbow' - Manchester City Exposed (Der Spiegel investigation)  (117). "The club had brought on board two experts to construct the castle of lies: Jonathan Rowland and his father David. The senior Rowland, a well-connected investment specialist, had been in the news in previous years as a result of the millions of pounds he had donated to the Conservative Party before then being appointed party treasurer. He never actually took up the post, however, withdrawing after it came out that he had hardly paid any taxes in the UK over decades. Rowland is still considered today to be a close ally of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. David Rowland and his son Jonathan together took over what was left of Kaupthing Bank in Iceland after its collapse during the financial crisis. The result was Banque Havilland, and a list of its branches reads like a travel guide for investors looking to avoid pesky questions and tax obligations: Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Bahamas, Switzerland. The owners of Fordham, the company that bought the marketing rights to Manchester City players, are likewise well-hidden: The path first leads to a British straw-man company, then to the British Virgin Islands and finally to the Rowland family trust"

Prince Andrew made secret deal to use tax haven tycoon’s £40m luxury jet to fly the world because he was fed up with ageing RAF planes, sparking calls for official probe into duke’s opaque finances (118). The Rowlands closeness to Prince Andrew once more proved to be advantageous and in return they clocked up business contacts on the back of the Royal telephone book

Claims Prince Andrew 'exploited trade envoy role to help wealthy pal' (119) - According to the Mail on Sunday, one email says that when Andrew was facing the sack from the role due to the Epstein relationship, Rowlands' son Jonathan "suggested their commercial activities could continue 'under the radar'". Andrew responded, "I like your thinking", the paper alleges. Further email exchanges are said to detail efforts to plug the Rowlands' family business on Andrew's trips to China and the Middle East.

But we learnt in 2016 Firtash only paid £18m for the £53m asset - so he had an unofficial taxpayer's loan of £33-35m

Channel 4 Dispatches were filming a documentary on the housing crisis in London in the summer of 2016 in the course of discussing a number of unused properties in London which were originally designated for new housing, and nothing happened, they discussed the former Brompton Road tube station. An investigative reporter for the programme recounted how he got in touch with the Land Registry saw the AP1 form, discussed the 'state of play' in terms of payments for the former tube site and discovered that Firtash had not paid the full amount at that time (summer of 2016) and that at least £33m had not been paid.

This amounted to the Ministry of Defence 'deferring the payment of £33m' and the UK taxpayer granting a 'tacit interest free loan' to Dmytro Firtash of £33m. The MoD stressed Mr Firtash was not under any obligation to build new homes (even though that was the reason he won the bid allegedly). And the fact that he was in a kind of limbo jail facing charges of extortion and bribery and had not paid his bill for the tube station in full did not seem to matter to anyone.

Now, you might ask, well he just got a mortgage in March from the family bank Banque Haviland run by David Rowland. Was that mortgage money handed over to the MoD to pay off the station? I think not. Otherwise why did Firtash get a second mortgage on Brompton Road two years later with Brooksford Overseas. Which just so happens to ALSO BE OWNED by David Rowland. The 2018 mortgage to Dmytro Firtash is even signed by family member Barclay Rowland who runs Banque Haviland in Abu Dhabi, where the bank works extremely closely with the UAE ruling sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed who everyone at Banque Haviland calls "the boss."(120)

So, there's £35m 'missing' from the Dmytro Firtash payment to purchase the Brompton Road tube station. The payment being deferred supposedly. The FBI issued a warrant for the arrest of Firtash on Feb 26, 2014 and then on Feb 27, 2014 the Ministry of Defence just had to exchange contracts with Firtash and sell him the tube station. Then two mortgages later from a senior multi-million pound Tory Party donor for Firtash - along comes VTB Bank (Russia) which is sometimes called by the nickname "Putin's Piggy Bank" in 2019 and it has a Cyprus court order to seize Dmytro Firtash's assests which are lodged against the Brompton Road property as a charge.

Dmytro Firtash's Power of Attorney and his 'witness'

In 2016 when Banque Haviland gives an initial mortgage to Dmytro Firtash he is under arrest, and restricted in movements in Vienna. There's no known current or future development work happening at the Brompton Road site and no planning permission for future works. There's no change of mortgage switch, (as there is when Brooksford Overseas gives a second mortgage to Firtash in March 2018). Firtash DOES NOT MANAGE the property though, per se, he appointed a Power of Attorney Denis Gorbunenko to act on his behalf. Gorbunenko signs the document and agrees to become Power of Attorney on the Brompton Road property on 25 February, 2014. His signature was witnessed by Anthony Fisher who is Managing Director of Global Strategy Ltd. Fisher is a board member of the British Ukrainian Society. The Society's expenses seem to be met by Firtash and its address is the same as his companies). Mr Fisher by his own admission "has been involved in the Ukrainian market for several years and is a Founding Director of the EU-Ukraine Business Council."(121)

Fisher had been involved with Right Angle Campaigns Ltd (Robert Halfon MP) backed by Firtash. Fisher had been involved with Scythian Limited (backed by Firtash and publicly exposed as the source of cash to several Conservative MPs). He was on the Firtash Foundation board (resigning at the same time as Dominic Cummings brother-in-law Jack Wakefield on 21 June 2013). He was also on the board of Granowski & Associates with Earl Asquith - who runs the Zander Group. The common thread is Dmytro Firtash's money and people with connect to the Conservative Party. Vladimir Granowski, a close associate of Dmytro Firtash is seen in this picture from Vienna in 2015 walking through the park with him (122) Granowski is a political fixer, an astute sharp operator whose role is to manipulate news and people to back his boss Firtash's aims. His presence in the UK in a company ought to have rung alarm bells on any security service manager's desk. Granowski worked closely with Viktor Medvedchuk to oppose the Ukraine signing a treaty with the EU to move closer to Europe and away from Russia. Medvedchuk is also funded by a 'bargain energy deal' organised by Russia which has netted him and a partner millions of dollars - just as Dmytro Firtash is. Medvedchuk set up and finances Ukraine's biggest pro-Russia party. Companies connected to him paid around $1,000 for a controlling interest in a company holding rights to develop a nearly one billion barrel Russian oil field. Medvedchuk and his wife 'honoured Putin by making him godfather to their daughter, Daryna. Svetlana Medvedeva (wife of ex-President Medvedev) as named the girl's godmother. (123)

Denis Gorbunenko signed the deeds of the Brompton Road sale on behalf of Dmytro Firtash.  (124) Gorbunenko's Rodovid Bank collapsed after involvement in what appeared to be a Ponzi-like scheme. It bailed out Firtash's Nafta Bank in 2010. (125) Gorbunenko owned Raga Establishment which was also connected with the privatisation of UkrTelecom and Firtash and leaked emails show that Paul Manafort plotted to rig the Ukraine Telecoms deal just prior to signing up to run the Trump campaign. "Leaked emails show further links between Gorbunenko and Firtash: Gorbunenko took part in legal and public relations efforts to build a defence case following Firtash's arrest in Vienna in 2014 on charges that he had paid bribes to acquire a titanium mining permit in India." (126)

In February 2013 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) blocked a takeover of well-known UK stockbroker Seymour Pierce, by Denis Gorbunenko, after an eight month investigation into Gorbunenko's affairs. So alarmed was the FSA it gave Seymour Pierce ONE MONTH to repay £3m of loans that Gorbunenko had made to the company and to cut all ties with him. "The regulator was unhappy about the Ukrainian's business dealings in his homeland. The 39-year-old had been a big shareholder in Rodovid, a bank that had to receive a government bailout a year after Gorbunenko sold his stake."  (127)

Gorbunenko turns up in the Trump-Russia impeachment scandal at the end of 2019. At the heart of the December allegations was that Trump improperly pressurised Ukraine's leader Zelensky into launching an investigation in a Ukrainian company called Burisma and its links to the Bidens. As part of the efforts to find dirt on Hunter Biden - the President's lawyer Rudy Giuliani met in a London hotel with Firtash lawyer Dietrich and longtime Firtash associate Denis Gorbunenko. (128)  It is worth nothing that an Alexander Gorbunenko was Chief Financial Officer at Burisma when Hunter Biden served on the board. (129) He worked at Rodovid Bank and SP Advisers as did the other Gorbunenkos. Would Denis' attendance at the Giuliani meeting be connected.

So Jones Lang LaSalle and the Ministry of Defence were incapable of finding ANY thing described here. Incapable of asking MI5 why the security services vetoed the appointment of Pauline Neville Jones to the Cabinet in 2010. Incapable of asking the FSA about Firtash's Power of Attorney Gorbunenko and its 8-month investigation into his plans to takeover Seymour Pierce. Incapable of asking why the FSA decided Gorbunenko was throughly unsuitable to takeover the broker. None of the Wikileaks cable recording of Ambassador Bill Taylor's conversation with Firtash about his links to Semion Mogilevich seemed ring alarm bells. The payment scheduling £18m upfront and the remaining £35m when exactly did these payments fall due? They did not seem to bothered about the fact the taxpayer was on the hook for an interest free loan to Firtash to the tune of £33m for however many years it took to pay. The only conclusion we can reach is either due diligence was carried out by person driving a clown car OR JLL and the MoD 'had to find Firtash's bid acceptable.' Some of the documentation in the bid was actually signed by Firtash lawyers WHEN HE WAS IN JAIL in Vienna (130) (signed by Pincent Mason on 14 March, 2014 - 2 days after his arrest in Vienna - and not something 'hidden' as it was reported in the international press).

Dymtro Firtash held a meeting with UK Foreign Office officials on 24 February 2014 - thanks to his Zander/BuK connections

David Liddington told parliament - "Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met Dmytro Firtash on 24 February to discuss developments in Ukraine and support for Ukraine from the international community. They did not discuss matters of national security. The meeting was part of a wider approach by the FCO to understand better the situation in Ukraine, by seeking information and views from a wide range of contacts, including senior business figures. The government do not have plans to publish a note of the meeting to this time. According to our records, Dmytro Firtash has not attended any other meetings with the FCO in London."

The timeline runs like this

  • Feb 22 2014 - President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych flees his country (airlifted out by Putin we learn later) - Firtash is a backer of the party supporting Yanukovych and of the man himself.
  • Feb 24 2014 - Lord Risby (Zander Group and Tory peer) secures an FCO meeting for his 'employer' Dmytro Firtash to 'discuss' the situation in Ukraine
  • Feb 26 2014 - Denis Gorbunenko is made Power of Attorney for Dmytro Firtash
  • Feb 26 2014 - Issues a second warrant for Firtash's arrest (not known publicly but certainly in government circles as there had already been a warrant for 4 days at the end of October a few months earlier
  • Feb 27 2014 - Dmytro Firtash and the Ministry of Defence exchange contracts and Firtash buys the former Brompton Road tube station for just over £53m but only pays a deposit of around £18 million upfront
  • March 2016 - Firtash 'apparently' needs a mortgage and Tory multi-million pound benefactor David Rowland obliges via his Banque Haviland. Even though no building is happening, no plans submitted and nothing could be further from Firtash's mind - he needed a mortgage - which would have been managed by Denis Gorbunenko (Power of Attorney) on his behalf - and once the 'spigot' was turned on there is no way of knowing (save the MoD publishing the payments made) if the cash went to the MoD or if it went somewhere else and how much was sent - a particularly handy question to ask on "the eve of Brexit"
  • March 2018 - Banque Haviland seems not to want anyone looking at the Land Registry documents to know it gave Dmytro Firtash a mortgage so it pretends Brooksford Overseas did and uses a Deed of Priority to 'hide the Banque Haviland' charge
  • 2019 - Along comes Putin's piggybank VTB Bank to slap a charge on the property to sequester the asset and (presumably if the security services never investigate) make any evidence trail simply disappear

 

 

 

 

 

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