Could there be Russian involvement in the UK via our Charities?

So much has been in the media recently regarding Russian involvement in the U.K., from recent inquiries as to whether they were involved in the last General Election to media reports of involvement in the Brexit Referendum.  But what about links to British Charities?

A Director of one of the biggest banking Charities is also a Director of  two Russian Charities.  The Potanin Foundation is owned by Vladmimir Potanin.  Potanin is one of the wealthiest men in Russia (est. $15.9b) and appears on the US Treasury’s ‘Putin List’ of 210 individuals closely associated with Vladimir Putin.  This Charity awards grants principally to support programmes of sister Russian Foundation, Vladimir Potanin Foundation in Russia.

The other Charity is the Skolkovo Foundation.   A Charity which provides public benefit, in particular, to advance the education of the public with specific focus on providing funding for the work of the Moscow School of Management by developing the entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow, so it states.  Again, this Charity is owned by Vladmimir Potanin.  This school, launched in 2006, in Moscow was established and is managed as a non-profit organisation and is funded by tuition fees and donations.  The School focuses on developing unique leadership and communication skills required for new types of managers.

But these two Russian Charities are British based with British directors/trustees.  Why?

There is more to Charities today, but that will follow in another article soon.