King Charles’s distant royal relative is facing questions after organizing a lavish vacation for the Russian oligarch, known as Putin’s favorite industrialist, while under US sanctions.
Socialite Alexandra Bowes-Lyon’s father is the king’s third cousin. In February 2021, she organized a retreat in a ‘pristine and private’ safari in Kenya for Oleg Deripaska.
Deripaska, 55, had been sanctioned by the US three years earlier for his ties to the Kremlin.
The royal family member is the director of Space for Giants USA, an elephant charity, which has organized fundraisers at Kensington Palace and Clarence House, according to The Times. As a director, she organized the three-day trip by invitation, during which she went to spot lions, cheetahs and elephants.
‘Lexi’, 37, has lived in New York since 2011 when she started working for Christie’s, the auction house. Mr Deripaska is described as part of Vladimir Putin’s ‘inner circle’.
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska (pictured) was invited to a lavish vacation as an ‘elite donor’ to the charity Space for Giants USA – whose director has royal ties
Socialite Alexandra Bowes-Lyon (pictured), family of the king, faces questions about organizing a lavish holiday for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
Deripaska landed in Nairobi on his private jet before boarding a plane alongside his bodyguard, a butler and an executive at Rusal.
Oil tycoon Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, rose to prominence in the UK when he hosted Labor leader Lord Mandelson on his Corfu yacht.
The magnate stepped down as a director of Russian energy giant EN+ Group and United Company Rusal after being targeted by the sanctions.
His estimated peak net worth was £28 billion and he boasted several million in properties and private jets. Deripaska is accused of making his fortune through extortion, extortion and ordering the murder of a rival – which he has always denied.
Organized by a branch of the charity, Journeys for Giants, the sanctioned oligarch was to be welcomed by both Ms Bowes-Lyon and the charity’s founder and CEO, Dr Max Graham.
Mr. Deripaska was invited as an elite donor for charity. The charity receives hundreds of thousands of grants from the UK government.
Graham, 45, told The Times: “We cannot confirm or deny whether or not Space for Giants has violated US sanctions related to the 2021 safari, as no competent authority has ever ruled on this.
“What we can say is that no Space for Giants entity, Lexi Bowes-Lyon, nor myself have ever knowingly or intentionally violated sanctions.”
Oil tycoon Oleg Deripaska (right) is known as Vladimir Putin’s (left) industrialist of choice.
He added that the charity was assured she was not suspected of any crime and played the role of a “cooperating witness”.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “We can confirm that, in accordance with our guidance, Space for Giants filed a Major Incident Report in November 2022 to confirm that it complied with U.S. authorities.”
The U.S. Treasury Department prohibits any citizen, resident or entity from participating in financial transactions and other transactions with “specially designated nationals.”
Anyone who does can face up to 30 years in prison.
SFG has confirmed it received money from Deripaska following the imposition of the US sanction, but said the money was deposited into his UK account – before it imposed sanctions on Mr Deripaska.
Mr Deripaska, 55, had been sanctioned by the US for his ties to the Kremlin (left)
In 2020, SFG listed its “business and charitable partnerships,” including Rusal from Mr. Deripaska.
Mr Graham said the charity is ‘fully committed’ to complying with all international, national and local laws.
Deripaska was born in Siberia in 1968, but grew up with his grandparents in Krasnodar after his mother left home to look for work. He was drafted into the Red Army before graduating from Moscow State University in 1993 with a degree in nuclear physics, just as Soviet Russia was collapsing.
A spokesperson for Deripaska issued a statement saying he found it “absolutely disgusting” that journalists were preparing “sensational rubbish”.