Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Charity begins with champers for Amosu
Donors unable to check how Mandela money is spent
THERE can’t be many bankrupts who spent their Saturday watching polo at an exclusive event that promised champagne, cigars and gourmet food.
But Alexander Amosu isn’t like most bankrupts and likes to rub shoulders with high society through his operation Lux Afrique, which describes itself as a gateway for connecting the super rich with “everything luxury and beautiful from Africa”.
The entrepreneur first found fame by marketing blinged gold iphones covered in diamonds, but he was made bankrupt in 2008 and in 2015.
Discharge from both bankruptcies has been suspended indefinitely due to his “wilful” failure to co-operate with the Official Receiver, my source saying: “He seems to think it is beneath him to respond.”
None of which seems to have prevented him promoting the Lux Afrique Polo Day at Ham, West London.
The website trumpeted how it would aid the Nelson Mandela Foundation as well as Alexander Amosu’s own supposed good cause, AA Green Box.
Tickets ranged from £49 to £499 for the diamond option, which came with a “VIP hospitality lounge experience with luxurious seating, canape service, bowl food inspired by Africa and gourmet grazing tables”, adding you can “Enjoy premium champagne bars with a private butler service”.
You could quibble that it’s distasteful to claim to help the needy in Africa while enjoying such opulence, but I suppose any money raised is better than none.
Charity, however, wasn’t uppermost on Amosu’s mind when reporter Grainne Cuffe asked why he organised Saturday’s event.
“The reason why it started was to celebrate Lux Afrique and the polo players that play across different parts of Africa,” Amosu said. “So it’s about bringing these players to the UK and showcasing their talent and also shining a light on polo in Africa. That’s the key for us.”
So, not so much about the charitable element then.
Speaking of which, how much of the money raised will be going to the Nelson Mandela Foundation?
“Oh, we don’t talk about that type of thing,” was the astonishing reply. According to his website, donations to the Foundation will be funnelled through his operation AA Green Box, which does not have any publicly available accounts that donors can check to see how their money is spent.
When asked why AA Green Box isn’t it a registered charity or even a limited company, Mr Amosu replied: “I don’t understand,” adding that the conversation “seems to be going in a different direction”. His press officer stepped in and said: “Just so we’re clear, the proceeds of some of the event are going to the Foundation through specific fundraising, but we’ll send you the details of this.”
The press officer then turned on my reporter.
“She said I was there under deceit,” said Grainne. “I replied that I had said I was a journalist and wanted to ask Mr Amosu about the event and his charity work.
“She denied this and brought me to an empty room, told me to wait and began texting.
“She asked me to give her my press card, which I did, and refused to give it back, so I had to pull it from her hand, then I left.”
Don’t blame her, it was all getting rather unpleasant.