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It seems there’s no end in sight to the allegations being faced by insurance millionaire Arron Banks.
From the Cambridge Analytica fiasco to leaked correspondence supposedly pointing to tighter Russian links… now details of payments made to a cabinet minister in Lesotho have added to issues hounding the famed Leave.EU financier.
Reports by BBC and Channel 4 News said thousands of pounds were paid to Basotho National Party leader Thesele Maseribane in 2013 and 2014 – something both camps have confirmed. The reported figures differ but essentially centre on mining activity in the Southern African country.
According to the BBC, Banks said the funds were not connected to his seeking a prospecting licence at the time but were used to support Maseribane’s political campaign. The former Lloyd’s underwriter received the mining nod around the same time of the money transfers.
Meanwhile, Banks flatly denied the bribe accusation in a separate statement.
“Our mining activities in Lesotho were restricted to one licence where we have undertaken exploration work rather than full-scale mining, we have made a small number of high-quality alluvial diamond finds and we continue to assess the viability of mining in Lesotho,” the insurance tycoon told Channel 4 News. “The purpose of an exploration licence is to establish whether diamonds are present in the area and then for alluvial traps.
“We absolutely refute the allegation that payments made to Mr Masirebane were made for granting of any licences. We have made four such applications for licences in Lesotho all of which are outstanding, two years after the original applications, for the very reason we were not prepared to make such payments.”
