A Middle East-based rice supermarket tycoon is one of the Conservatives’ main supporters, donating millions of pounds in debt to a foreign company, the Observer said.
Karan Chanana, 49, head of the global rice brand Amira, has donated more than £ 220,000 to the Conservative Party through his British company Amira G Foods since September 2019.
Chanana, a native of India, has Maltese citizenship and his company Amira Nature Foods is based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) based in Dubai. The last donation of £ 50,000 was made in December, according to Electoral Commission records.
London-based Amira G Foods says in the company’s reports that it relies on BVI funding from Amira Nature Foods. The British company had a net debt of £ 5.96 million on March 31 last year, according to its latest accounts.
Donations emphasize the lack of transparency regarding the final source of corporate donations. Political parties are banned from accepting donations from foreign companies and individuals, but there are long-standing concerns about the instability of the rules.
Companies are not required to disclose whether donations have been received from foreign funds or revenues from the United Kingdom. Amira did not answer questions last week about donations and its accounts do not disclose UK revenue.
The election commission says it has called on the government to tighten controls to ensure that foreign money is not used to fund political parties. Under the current rules, a UK-registered company is only required to “do business” in the UK to make political donations.
Chanana hoped to turn the Indian food company Amira into the world’s leading rice brand. He turned the family business, founded in 1915, into a major international producer of Indian specialty rice. The company specializes in Indian basmati rice grown in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Amira Nature Foods was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2012 and its rice is sold worldwide, including in British supermarkets. Chanana is the chairman and CEO of the company and its major shareholder.
Amira Nature Foods, owned by Tory donor Karan Chanana, is based in Dubai. Photo: Giuseppe Cacache / AFP / Getty Images
But his operations in India faced controversy in November 2020, when a complaint was filed with the Central Bureau of Investigation of India by a group of creditor banks accusing Amira Pure Foods, the group’s subsidiary in India, of defaulting on interest payments. . It says accountants appointed by the banks have found alleged “obvious irregularities” in his accounts.
Bank employees involved in the lawsuits against Amira Pure Foods have also filed for bankruptcy against the company in India and it is now in the process of liquidation. Bankruptcy documents reveal that the financial creditors’ claims against the company exceed £ 230 million.
Amira Nature Foods was also removed from the New York Stock Exchange in August 2020 after missing deadlines for submitting financial information. Its rice brands are no longer widely available in the UK.
The company is headquartered in the 35-storey Gold Tower in Dubai, which has a cross section in the shape of a gold leaf and windows with gold tinted. It also has a registered office in London.
Chanana has enjoyed publicity as one of India’s most successful businessmen as she builds her international food brand, appearing regularly in the media as a commentator. He spent long periods in the UK building his international business, providing the UK as his residence in company records and regularly entertaining colleagues and friends in London.
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: “The Commission has been recommending for some time to the UK Government and Parliament to consider working with us on how to improve controls on donations and loans to prevent the use of foreign money in UK policy.
“We believe the law needs to be changed to prevent parties and activists from accepting money from companies that have not generated enough in the UK to finance the amount of their donation or loan.
The Conservative Party Chanana and Amira Nature Foods did not respond to a request for comment.
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