Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answers of 7 April 2014 to Questions 194734 to 194737, what checks were made on the provenance of the funds used to purchase Brompton Road underground station.

Mark Lancaster

In accordance with normal practice the independent marketing agents analysed the leading bids and bidders. Mr Firtash was regarded as a high net worth individual capable of meeting the contractual obligations.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) took a 10% deposit (over £5 million) on exchange of contracts and later a legal charge at completion to secure payment obligations. In addition, all funds were paid to the MOD through UK regulated solicitors, in accordance with normal practice, to ensure that appropriate financial checks were made on their client.