Ehud Sheleg

Sir Ehud “Udi” Sheleg (Hebrew: אהוד שלג‎; born November 1955)[1] is a British-Israeli businessman, art dealer and political figure.[2][3]

Sir

Ehud Sheleg
Treasurer of the Conservative Party
Assumed office
24 July 2019
LeaderBoris Johnson
ChairmanJames Cleverly
Ben Elliot
Preceded byMick Davis
Personal details
BornNovember 1955 (1955-11) (age 64)
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityIsrael
United Kingdom
Political partyConservative
WebsiteParty website

Early life

Sheleg was born in Tel Aviv. His father served with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.[4]

Career

Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]

Personal life

Sheleg has been married twice: his first wife was English, and he married his second in 2014.[4][10]

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References
  1. ltd, company check. "MR EHUD SHELEG director information. Free director information. Director id 901517757". Company Check.
  2. "Three businessmen who gave over £5m to Tories awarded honours by Theresa May". Left Foot Forward. September 10, 2019.
  3. Preston, Alex (August 25, 2018). "Meet the Israeli-born art mogul who gave the Tories £500,000 last year... and is set to become party treasurer" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. "Ehud Sheleg, Tel Aviv-born Tory treasurer 'surprised' by knighthood from Theresa May". www.thejc.com. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  5. "Tory party treasurer's brother and business partner was involved in now-banned binary options industry". February 19, 2019.
  6. "Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor". www.iskb.co.uk.
  7. "Revealed: The elite dining club behind £130m+ donations to the Tories". openDemocracy.
  8. Private Eye column, and issues 1490 and 1492
  9. "New Tory treasurer was involved in legal battle over missing Rolf Harris painting". The Red Roar. May 18, 2018.
  10. "Israeli-born donor slated to be new Tory treasurer". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
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