the former head of the Ministry of Justice of Britain will receive $311 thousand from LetterOne for 8 hours of work per week – Kommersant

Former head of the UK Ministry of Justice Brandon Lewis has been appointed head of the advisory council to the chairman of the investment company with Russian roots, LetterOne. He will receive £250 thousand per year (about $311 thousand at the current exchange rate) for an eight-hour working week, the publication reported The Guardian.

The company announced the appointment on October 26. She said in a statement that “Brandon’s depth of experience will strengthen LetterOne’s commitment to protecting the 120,000 jobs that depend on its investments and creating businesses that matter to the economies of the UK, Europe and the US.”

Despite the fact that Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, who own 49% of LetterOne, are under sanctions, Brandon Lewis received permission to advise the company from the Business Nominations Advisory Committee. At the same time, Mr. Lewis remains a deputy in the House of Commons, but he is prohibited from lobbying the interests of LetterOne. He is also barred from participating in the lawsuit between LetterOne and the British government. Chairman of the Board of Directors of LetterOne Mervyn Davis emphasized that after the departure of Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and their partners from their positions, businessmen no longer have influence on the company. Their shares are frozen by sanctions.

According to The Guardian, Mr. Lewis’s salary will be transferred to Bergo Holdings, owned by him and his wife. On the company website indicatedthat it is dedicated to “promoting responsible and transparent trade in metals and energy.”

Mr Lewis said the company was focused on making “extremely important” public investments following the departure of the Russian businessmen. He also emphasized that the company has become one of the main “corporate sponsors” providing assistance to Ukraine.

Brendon Lewis served as head of the Ministry of Justice (for a month and a half in 2022), and also served as Minister for Northern Ireland (2020–2022), and in 2018–2019 he was Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio.

At the end of 2022, LetterOne recorded a record loss of $7.85 billion. And the value of net assets for 2022 decreased from $26.8 billion to $18.7 billion.

Alexandra Goroshilova