A lobbying firm with deep ties to the Conservative party planned a secretive campaign to influence elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in exchange for millions of pounds from a mining company.
Leaked documents suggest the influential firm co-owned by the veteran Tory strategist Sir Lynton Crosby agreed to help the mining company swing a presidential election in the central African country.
The files suggest CT Group also worked, under the radar, on a political influence campaign in Zambia on behalf of mining interests while working on a campaign to oust the country’s president.
Crosby is credited as the mastermind behind a series of Tory election campaigns for David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. In recent years, multiple former CT Group employees have moved into senior roles at party headquarters and within government.
The most recent was Mark Fullbrook, who previously ran the lobbying firm with Crosby and served as Downing Street’s chief of staff until last week.
The disclosures about CT Group’s work in Africa on behalf of corporate clients came as the party’s new leadership considers whether to retain another longtime Crosby associate, Isaac Levido, to run its next general election campaign.
The leaked files appear to show how, between its work on Tory election campaigns, CT Group sought to shape political events in multiple African countries on behalf of deep-pocketed commercial clients.
According to one document, marked draft, CT Group told representatives of the Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals that both Crosby and Fullbrook would work on the 2011 campaign against the DRC government.
The documents suggest CT Group stood to gain as much as £1.2m in fees from First Quantum for what it said would be a seven-month project, with a £1m bonus available if CT Group met certain targets.
Contacted about the projects in Africa, Fullbrook sought to distance himself from the work, saying: “It’s nothing to do with me.” A spokesperson for CT Group acknowledged the firm had “supported campaigns in a range of countries” including the DRC, but denied its work in the country was covert or undemocratic.
However, its work raises questions about the ethics of political consultants seeking to swing a political election on behalf of a company battling to secure substantial mining interests in a developing country.
‘A real opportunity’
When the DRC dramatically revoked First Quantum’s copper mining permits in late 2010, the company assembled an army of lawyers to contest the decision in international courts. Months later, it appears to have turned to CT Group for support.
Documents show CT Group – then known as CTF Partners – told First Quantum in May 2011 that elections in the DRC later that year represented “a real opportunity to influence the future of the country”. The firm’s “expertise and discretion”, executives promised, “can ensure this opportunity is harnessed”.
To “secure the most favourable possible outcome” and “add value” to the mining company, CTF said it would provide “direct support to the most likely person to beat the current president” and carry out “indirect activity” to undermine the president inside the DRC and internationally.
Another part of CTF’s plan proposed to discredit the country’s then president, Joseph Kabila, to “create a climate of opinion” that would encourage any international court to find in favour of First Quantum in its legal dispute with the DRC government.
Three sources with knowledge of CTF’s activities at the time said the firm proceeded to work throughout 2011 on a campaign focused on the DRC elections.
Kabila, who while president was accused of widespread corruption and human rights violations, which he denied, was ultimately declared the election’s winner in a vote international observers said lacked credibility.
The documents, however, shed light on how well-connected British lobbyists were prepared to quietly intervene in the DRC’s political processes in an apparent attempt to advance the commercial interests of a large international company.
CTF assured First Quantum that its work would be carried out on a confidential basis, pledging that it would “not comment on the client or elections unless explicitly authorised to do so”.
First Quantum did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Fullbrook did not respond to multiple requests to elaborate on his denial of any involvement in CTF’s work in the DRC.
‘Open Zambia’
Three years after the DRC campaign, CTF was working on another secret political project, in neighbouring Zambia, where First Quantum is the country’s biggest copper miner and largest foreign investor.
Documents suggest the firm’s client was involved in the mining sector and also active in Zambia, but it is unclear if the work was linked to First Quantum.
The files suggest that in 2014 CTF conducted polling and focus group research in Zambia and also fed political intelligence to its client about which political party “would likely have a more favourable and consistent approach towards the mining sector”.
A source familiar with its work in Zambia said CTF went on to support the election of business-friendly opposition politician, Hakainde Hichilema, in a special election in 2015. Hichilema outperformed expectations but failed to gain the presidency; he was elected Zambia’s president last year.
Some of CTF’s work in Zambia prior to the election remains active today. According to the leaked documents, the firm established an online news website that it boasted had become “a recognised independent voice of authority”.
The “Open Zambia” website continues to publish articles. It describes itself as “Zambia’s only independent news source” and heralds its role in “promoting transparency”. The site, which frequently carries articles favourable to First Quantum, does not disclose it was established by a London-based lobbying firm.
There is no suggestion CT Group engaged in unlawful activities on behalf of clients in the mining sector.
In its statement, CT Group said: “It is no secret that we have worked on election campaigns internationally, and strictly adhere to all relevant laws and regulations in those jurisdictions.
“We have supported campaigns in a range of countries, including the DRC and Zambia. Supporting a candidate, be they an incumbent or in opposition, in an election campaign is taking part in the democratic process.”
Investigative journalism is the lifeblood of the Guardian. If you know something that could help us hold powerful institutions to account, please consider sharing it with us.
- Send an encrypted message to our UK investigations team using Signal or WhatsApp on +44 7584 640566.
- Email a specific reporter using PGP encryption.
- For the most sensitive material, use our SecureDrop service.
- For further information on how to contact Guardian reporters securely, read our full guide.
- For more general contact information see our main contact pages.
