Another arms supplier
On the same panel as Ichikowitz sat his close friend, Jean-yves Ollivier, who was accused recently of falling into that third category. Ollivier runs the Brazzaville Foundation, which also focuses on conservation, and was recently the subject of an investigation by online news publication Finance Uncovered. The investigation aired claims that the foundation was established to launder the reputation of Denis Sassou-nguesso, the president of the Republic of Congo, who has been in power for 35 years, and is accused of enabling human rights abuses.
When challenged on this by the Mail & Guardian, Ollivier said — without offering proof — the investigation was paid for “by some people who don’t like us, and the conclusion has not proved anything”. He denied the allegations. “Why do you identify one person, especially who is nothing to do with my company, with my institution? Why do you say that I am supporting this guy? I am not supporting this guy, he is a friend. But look at what I am delivering. Not what my friends are.”
This response is disingenuous: in early versions of the Brazzaville Foundation website Sassou-nguesso is referred to as the organisation’s “inspiration”. Both Olivier and Ichikowitz are close to the Congolese president. As The Telegraph put it in a 2016 article: “Mr Ollivier is one of his key aides while Mr Ichikowitz is his main arms supplier.”
Tim Bell, the founder of disgraced PR firm Bell Pottinger — infamous for meddling in the internal politics of sovereign states — was until last year a trustee of the Brazzaville Foundation. Its board includes former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and former ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa. In another tidy confluence of interests, Phosa is now a partner in Ichikowitz’s Paramount Group, and the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation describes the Ichikowitz Family Foundation as one of its main sponsors.