Lubov Chernukhin

Lubov Chernukhin (née Golubeva; born 12 November 1972)[1] is a former investment banker born in the USSR. She is the largest female political donor in British history having donated over £2 million to the Conservative Party.[2][3][4][5] Chernukhin writes columns for Reaction.life.[6]

Lubov Chernukhin
OccupationFormer Banker
SpouseVladimir Chernukhin

Biography

Chernukhin left the USSR for the USA as a teenager. She was educated on the U.S. East Coast, receiving a master’s degree from the NYU Stern School of Business.[2] Chernukhin moved to the UK in 1999.[7] Aside from her philanthropic work, Chernukhin acts as a VC Investor and is listed as a director of UK property firm Capital Construction And Development Ltd.[8][9]

In 2007, she married Vladimir Chernukhin, former deputy minister of finance in Mikhail Kasyanov’s government and former chairman of Russian state development corporation Vnesheconombank. In 2004, Vladimir was forced to flee to the UK from Russia after President Putin dismissed Prime Minister Kasyanov and began campaign of harassment against his associates.[10] During 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, in reaction to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chernukhin publicly condemned "all Russian military aggression in Ukraine" and urged for the "strongest possible sanctions against Putin's regime and its enablers".[11][12][13] In September 2022, Chernukhin wrote an Op-ed on Politico regarding what avenue the west should take in relation to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, in order to fight the war fatigue and what the media's role should be to support Ukraine.[14]

In November 2022, Chernukhin together with entertainment entrepreneur Graham Owen opened a family entertainment centre, Owens Entertainment[15] in Hastings, which has been built in place of a former Debenhams store with the aim of repurposing the site.[16]

British Conservative Party

Chernukhin is a member of the Conservative Party's Advisory Board for significant donors.[17] In a February 2022 investigation The Times alleged that Chernukhin had repeatedly lobbied government ministers "against raising the tax burden on high net-worth individuals" and sent ministers research from Ernst and Young "on the importance of the ultra-rich for the overall economy" while a member of the advisory board.[17]

Chernukhin's donations to the Conservative Party came under scrutiny after her husband was given a loan of $8 million by Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov through an offshore company in 2016. The transaction was first mentioned in FinCEN files leak which was reported by BBC News.[18] The loan amount from Kerimov was subsequently repaid in the same year.[19] Records from the Electoral Commission, show Chernukhin did make two donations to the Conservative Party during this time (from the date of loan receipt to the date of repayment), one in the sum of £1,100 and another in the sum of £4,000.[20] According to BBC News, Chernukhin's lawyer stated that she "has never received money deriving from Mr Kerimov or any company related to him" and her "donations to the Conservative Party have never been tainted by Kremlin or any other influence".[21]

References
  1. Companies House (26 October 2012). "Appointment of Lubov Chernukhin as a director". Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. "Lubov Chernukhin: Tories' tennis-bidding, record-setting donor". The Guardian. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. Moskowitz, Eli. "Wife of Putin Ally Has Now Donated $2.47 Million to U.K. Tory Party". www.occrp.org. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. Davies, Harry; Harding, Luke (4 October 2021). "Revealed: top female Tory donor's vast offshore empire with husband". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  5. "FinCEN Files: Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin linked to $8m Putin ally funding". BBC News. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  6. Chernukhin, Lubov. "Lubov Chernukhin". Reaction. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  7. "Wrong to tar all Russian-linked Tory donors with the same brush, Government says". The Independent. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. "Ruth Davidson hasn't had £20,000 dinner with Russian who won auction". The National. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. "Did donations to the Conservatives buy a Kremlin Brexit?". West Country Voices. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. Browning, Jonathan. "Billionaire Taunts Exiled Ex-Banker in Moscow Property Spat". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  11. "Ukraine crisis: Give Russia-linked donations to charities, Labour MP says". BBC News. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  12. Reporter, George Grylls, Political. "Lebedev and super-rich Tory donor condemn Ukraine hostilities". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  13. Boycott-Owen, Mason (2 March 2022). "Boris Johnson accuses Russia of committing war crimes". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. "UK, the West mustn't succumb to Ukraine war fatigue". POLITICO. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  15. "Owens Entertainment". Owens Entertainment. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  16. "Top Conservative donor co-finances Hastings' Owens 'fun factory'". www.sussexexpress.co.uk. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  17. Gabriel Pogrund; Henry Zeffman (20 February 2022). "The Tory donors with access to Boris Johnson's top team". The Times. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  18. "FinCEN Files: Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin linked to $8m Putin ally funding". BBC News. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  19. Wheeler, Harry Yorke and Caroline. "Boris Johnson was at Tory fundraiser with Russian donor on night of Ukraine invasion". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  20. "Search - The Electoral Commission". search.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  21. "Tory donor's 'link' to sanctioned oligarch's secret London property". BBC News. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
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