Lubov Chernukhin, the UK's biggest female political donor ever and who is a wife of a former Putin Minister, donated a further £52,000 to the Tories over the summer.

Lubov Chernukhin, the UK’s biggest female political donor ever and who is a wife of a former Putin Minister, donated a further £52,000 to the Tories over the summer.

Chernukhin, who it was revealed was on a ‘secret advisory board’ with direct access to Boris Johnson, has donated more than £2 million to the Conservatives from 2012 to 2020.

The Mirror now reports that the Russian-born banker, who frequently attends fundraising auctions for the Tory party has continued to donate funds, despite the renewed scrutiny she has faced in recent months.

She donated over £37,000 to the party in July and also gave a personal donation of £15,000 to Brandon Lewis on July 14, a week after he stepped down as Northern Ireland Secretary.

Chernukhin also once gave £135,000 to the Tories in exchange for an invite to a ladies’ night dinner at a luxury hotel with Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet in April 2019. She has also twice made winning bids at an auction for tennis matches with Boris Johnson.

Her husband Vladimir, served as Mr Putin’s deputy finance minister in the early 2000s.

In 2020, Ms Chernukhin’s lawyer said: “Mrs Chernukhin’s donations to the Conservative Party have never been tainted by Kremlin or any other influence.”

The Conservative Party has been criticised for accepting donations from people with links to Russia as further sanctions have been placed on individuals and companies directly involved with Mr Putin after he invaded Ukraine.

The Pandora Papers, documents leaked last year revealing owners of offshore companies and secret bank accounts, revealed Mrs Chernukhin’s wealth comes from her husband.

They own a house overlooking London’s Regents Park worth £38m and a mansion in Oxfordshire bought for £10m, the papers revealed.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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