POLITICAL DONATIONS IN BRITAIN MAY HAVE BEEN CHANNELLED THROUGH BELIZE

Published on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
By Oscar Ramjeet
Caribbean Net News Special Correspondent
Email: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com

BELIZE CITY, Belize: A report published in the London Times and reproduced in Belize newspapers has claimed that Lord Ashcroft, Deputy Chairman of Britain’s Conservative Party, channelled money into party funds from Belize.

The report stated that, despite a ban on overseas donations, about 4.79 million pounds sterling was transferred via a chain of companies to Bearwood Corporate Services, a key donor to the Conservative Party, according to company documents.

The report added that some of these funds appear to have been used for political donations.

The Times report also stated that Ashcroft faced questions over whether tax was paid on the donations and whether he is now officially resident in the UK for tax purposes, as he pledged when he became a peer.

His scheme is legal because the donations have been made by a company registered in Britain, but the newspaper stated that the "exploitation of an apparent loophole in the law has triggered calls for an inquiry by the Electoral Commission”.

Sir Alistair Graham, former Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said, "Money is being bounced around the world before it ends up in Conservative Party accounts. This breaks the spirit of the law on foreign donations." .