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(Independent owner) Lebedev dinner with Mohammed bin Salman raises questions over Saudi links
Source: The Guardian
Lebedev dinner with Mohammed bin Salman raises questions over Saudi links
Independent owner hosted Saudi leader in London last year
Jim Waterson Media edtior
Tue 3 Sep 2019 14.51 BST Last modified on Tue 3 Sep 2019 15.15 BST
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard, hosted a private dinner for the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, raising further questions about the media mogul’s links to the de facto ruler of the Middle Eastern kingdom.
Lebedev’s news outlets are being investigated due to public interest concerns over a mysterious Saudi investment made through a web of offshore bank accounts, with the UK government suggesting that the Independent and Evening Standard are now part-owned by the Saudi state. The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, has until Friday to decide whether or not to appeal against a court ruling that the UK government missed a deadline to intervene in the deal.
The revelation that Lebedev had a personal relationship with Prince Mohammed raises further questions about the connections between the two men. Multiple sources told the Guardian that the young Saudi prince had taken time out of his brief state visit to London in March 2018 – when he was hosted by the then prime minister, Theresa May, and the Queen – to spend time with the Russian oligarch’s son, who is thought to have hosted the dinner at his house in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.
Leading business and media figures were also in attendance at the event, including the Virgin co-founder Richard Branson, whose spokesperson confirmed his attendance, saying: “Richard went to dinner as he was invited by Lebedev, who he knows well. At that time Virgin was discussing an investment with the [Saudi national investment fund] PIF in Virgin Galactic, which was later called off by Richard. The dinner was a personal one and not focused on business.”
Lebedev’s spokesperson declined to comment on the dinner but insisted the Saudi crown prince had no personal role in arranging the disputed investments in the London-based news outlets. At this time Prince Mohammed was still attempting to project a modernising image of his country, work that would be largely undone later that year when he was implicated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
-snip-
Independent owner hosted Saudi leader in London last year
Jim Waterson Media edtior
Tue 3 Sep 2019 14.51 BST Last modified on Tue 3 Sep 2019 15.15 BST
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard, hosted a private dinner for the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, raising further questions about the media mogul’s links to the de facto ruler of the Middle Eastern kingdom.
Lebedev’s news outlets are being investigated due to public interest concerns over a mysterious Saudi investment made through a web of offshore bank accounts, with the UK government suggesting that the Independent and Evening Standard are now part-owned by the Saudi state. The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, has until Friday to decide whether or not to appeal against a court ruling that the UK government missed a deadline to intervene in the deal.
The revelation that Lebedev had a personal relationship with Prince Mohammed raises further questions about the connections between the two men. Multiple sources told the Guardian that the young Saudi prince had taken time out of his brief state visit to London in March 2018 – when he was hosted by the then prime minister, Theresa May, and the Queen – to spend time with the Russian oligarch’s son, who is thought to have hosted the dinner at his house in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.
Leading business and media figures were also in attendance at the event, including the Virgin co-founder Richard Branson, whose spokesperson confirmed his attendance, saying: “Richard went to dinner as he was invited by Lebedev, who he knows well. At that time Virgin was discussing an investment with the [Saudi national investment fund] PIF in Virgin Galactic, which was later called off by Richard. The dinner was a personal one and not focused on business.”
Lebedev’s spokesperson declined to comment on the dinner but insisted the Saudi crown prince had no personal role in arranging the disputed investments in the London-based news outlets. At this time Prince Mohammed was still attempting to project a modernising image of his country, work that would be largely undone later that year when he was implicated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/03/media-mogul-evgeny-lebedev-dinner-saudi-leader-mohammed-bin-salman