Russian banker used donation in his bid to win UK residency
A FORMER Russian banker included letters detailing his donations to the Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation in a dossier sent to the Home Office to support his claim for UK residency.
Dmitry Leus was found guilty of fraud and jailed in Latvia in 2004. The conviction was later overturned and he insists the prosecution was politically motivated.
The Mail on Sunday has established that Mr Leus made donations in excess of £500,000 to the Prince’s Foundation, which is based at Dumfries House. The businessman was expecting oneto-one hospitality from Charles in recognition of his generosity.
Michael Wynne-Parker, a society fixer who acts as a trustee for the Leus Family Foundation, said Mr Leus had ‘received a warm letter from HRH looking forward to a meeting ASAP’.
While sources close to the Prince’s Foundation last night confirmed receipt of Mr Leus’s donation, they said the invitation to Dumfries House would not be forthcoming and that the money was returned earlier this year.
It is understood that questions about the donation were first raised last autumn, around the time that Mr Leus was lobbying the Home Office. In a letter last September and seen by the MoS, Mr Leus’s lawyers acknowledge that he was refused a Tier 1 (Investor) visa in 2014 because he failed to inform the Home Office of his criminal conviction in Russia.
They argue that this ‘would not constitute deliberate dishonesty or deception’ to conceal his conviction, but had merely been a ‘misunderstanding’ over the requirement to disclose the conviction given that it had been ‘expunged’.
In another section of the letter entitled ‘Family ties, connections and contributions to the UK’, they add: ‘Mr Leus has also contributed to The Prince’s Foundation in their work to support and enrich communities through sustainable approaches to living, restoration of historic sites and the teaching of traditional arts and skills.
‘Please find enclosed a letter from Chris Martin, the Deputy Executive Director of The Prince’s Foundation, expressing his gratitude for Mr Leus’ support. Please also find enclosed an official letter from Clarence House, the official London residence of the Prince of Wales, thanking Mr Leus for his support and encouragement at such a “critical time.”’
Mr Leus is understood to have been successful with his application and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. Born in Turkmenistan,
Mr Leus also has Russian and Israeli citizenship, but entered Britain on a European Union passport from Cyprus. He lives in the Knightsbridge area of London with his wife and their four sons.
He has donated millions to British charities but made headlines earlier this month when it emerged he had also made three payments totalling £25,000 to the local Conservative association of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Asked why Mr Leus had made such a generous donation to the Prince’s Foundation, Mr WynneParker said: ‘The aims of the Foundation [Dumfries House] coincide with his aim of assisting young people to have a fulfilling life. Mr Leus is passionate about helping young people because he experienced many challenges in his youth which shaped his character as a successful businessman.
‘He is an inspiration to many through his approach. Most rich people give something back parttime, whereas he gives a vast amount back.’
Mr Leus was European fencing champion aged 17. ‘My business mindset was created in the gymnasiums and competition halls of my teenage years,’ he said in a recent interview.
Mr Leus’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.