Rishi Sunak poses with former Kremlin lobbyist who’s now a Tory candidate
Rishi Sunak posed up for pictures with a former lobbyist for the Kremlin – who is now a Tory candidate.
Nigel Garnder, who is standing for the Conservative Party in Harpenden and Berkhamsted co-founded lobbying firms including GPlus, which worked for Vladimir Putin ’s Kremlin and Russian state energy firm Gazprom in the 2000s.
Mr Gardner’s firm has been accused of spreading “propaganda” and “pushing Russia ’s side” during Putin’s five-day war with Georgia in 2008.
GPlus’ work for Russia began in 2006, when the country held the presidency of the G8 – but it also coincided with the alleged assassination on British soil of Alexander Litvinenko.
Mr Gardner defended the work to his local paper the Herts Advertiser last year after he was selected for the seat.
He said: “I don’t regret it at all…I think it was completely acceptable to have taken that work at that time.”
He added: “We actually thought we were doing quite a good thing, we were helping them understand how to deal with the scrutiny of the Western media.”
A Lib Dem Source said: “Instead of distancing himself from the man who lobbied for the Kremlin, Sunak dashed to him in the first week of his election campaign.
Rishi Sunak visited Mr Gardner in Berkhamsted on Monday – posing up for pictures as the pair took a stroll through the constituency.
It can also be revealed that the previous Friday Mr Sunak, Mr Sunak visited a Russia-linked tech firm during his visit to Northern Ireland.
The PM visited Artemis Technologies – which is based in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
When the firm was first launched in 2015 it was the UK arm of then-Russian commodities trader Gunvor – once described by US diplomats as a rumoured “source of Putin’s undisclosed wealth”.
Among Artemis’ directors is Tobjorn Tornqvist – the Swedish businessman who co-founded Gunvor with Russian Oligarch Gennady Timchenko in 2000.
Mr Tornqvist bought Mr Timchenko out of the business in 2014 after the US imposed sanctions on him.
At the time, the US Treasury claimed that via Mr Timchenko “Putin has investments in Gunvor and may have access to Gunvor funds.”
Gunvor Group Ltd launched Gunvor UK – which was later renamed Artemis – the following year.
Mr Tornqvist remains chief executive of Gunvor Group – and sits on Artemis’ board of directors.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Gunvor Group released a statement saying it had no “material exposure” to Russia.
But in June last year it was reported to still be a “significant buyer of refined oil from Russia.”
Mr Tornqvist sold his 75% stake in Artemis in 2018, but remains a director of the firm. His son Fredrik – also senior executive at Gunvor – was appointed to Artemis’ board in 2021.
The Conservative Party declined to comment, but a source said Mr Tornqvist had “cut ties” with Mr Timchenko in 2014.
A spokesperson for Artemis said: “Artemis Technologies is an independent UK-based organisation led and owned by British citizens who are working passionately for emissions-free transportation.”
