The Conservatives have appointed an Egyptian-born billionaire and former minister under the Hosni Mubarak regime to be one of their senior fundraisers before the next election.
Rishi Sunak made the announcement that Mohamed Mansour would be the senior treasurer of the Conservative party at a reception for a group of donors on Monday night.
Mansour’s company Unatrac has donated more than £600,000 to the party. He was also last year given a role on the government’s advisory investment council as founder of his family-owned investment firm Man Capital.
He is a former politician who served as a transport minister from 2006 to 2009 in the government of the then president, Hosni Mubarak, who was removed from office in 2011 as part of the Arab spring.
Mubarak is considered a military autocrat who ruled Egypt for 30 years, maintaining his grip on office through a crackdown on political opposition, routinely running for re-election unopposed and stifling free speech.
The Conservative party repeatedly refused to confirm Mansour’s role, stating that he was “not the treasurer”. However, party sources confirmed he had a separate role as “the senior treasurer” – a job that will involve fundraising in the run-up to the next general election.
Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour party, criticised the appointment. “Just when you think the Conservatives have plumbed the depths of sleaze and scandal we have this: a billionaire who was a part of Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime being put in charge of drumming up donations, to plug the gap left by those deserting this chaotic and stagnant government,” she said.
“Rishi Sunak’s promise of honesty, integrity and accountability is officially dead in the water. Labour’s independent integrity and ethics commission will clean up politics and restore trust in public office.”
The treasurer is expected to be announced as Graham Edwards, the executive chair of Telereal Trillium, one of the UK’s largest property firms. Edwards has personally donated almost £1m to the Tories.
The role of Conservative party treasurer has proved controversial in recent years as nine of them have gone on to receive peerages.
Confirming his appointment, Mansour said: “It is a great honour and privilege to have been appointed as senior treasurer of the Conservative party and a member of the treasurer’s team of the party. The prime minister is making the hard choices that are necessary during a tough period for the country and, as a proud British citizen, I look forward to working with the team to support the party and the country.”
The Conservative party had no comment.
