Christopher Chandler - Correction and Apology: 4 February 2018
We also reported that Mr Chandler had helped President Vladimir Putin to take control of Russian energy giant Gazprom. In fact, Mr Chandler is a New Zealand national.
He is not and never has been a Russian tycoon. While Mr Chandler through Sovereign Global held shares in Gazprom, it was from a time well before President Putin gained power in the Russian Federation.
Mr Chandler states, and we accept, that he did not actively or knowingly help President Putin gain control of Gazprom, which was the unforeseeable outcome of the minority shareholders’ lobbying to which Mr Chandler had been a part.
The Legatum Institute Foundation, a charity registered in the UK, has many donors including Mr Chandler, but none of them is Russian.
Mr Chandler was unaware of any involvement by the Legatum Institute Foundation in supporting Messrs Johnson and Gove prior to the 2017 budget.
We are happy to set the record straight and apologise to Mr Chandler for the errors made in the article.