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[redflowernews]

La generación eléctrica en RD es efi ciente, la distribución es aún un desafío

El presidente del Consejo Unificado de las Empresas Distribuidoras de Electricidad (CUED), Celso Marranzini, aseguró ayer que, aunque la República Dominicana ha avanzado en el sistema de generación eléctrica con plantas eficientes y modernas y suficiente energía, la distribución sigue siendo el principal desafío.En la entrevista Especial de CDN, destacó que la estabilidad de las deudas de las distribuidoras es un progreso significativo, aunque reconoció que aún persisten problemas operacionales y financieros que deben ser atendidos. Marranzini recordó que, pese a las mejoras en el sector, alrededor de 800 mil clientes no pagan el servicio eléctrico, lo que afecta la sostenibilidad del sistema. Además, enfatizó la necesidad de continuar con la instalación de medidores y la adquisición de transformadores de distribución, así como con los esfuerzos para ordenar el cableado eléctrico en áreas urbanas. También resaltó que la Central Termoeléctrica Punta Catalina, en la que ostenta la vicepresidencia del Consejo de Administración, está en óptimas condiciones operativas y no se le debe dinero a ningún suplidor.

Resaltó en la entrevista que la Empresa de Transmisión está haciendo ampliaciones importantes. A partir de la experiencia que posee, dijo que si se compara el sistema de distribución del año 1996, con lo que es el sistema de distribución hoy, ha habido avances importantes. Aseguró que cada uno de los que han pasado en su momento “por ahí”, en referencia a la antigua Corporación Dominicana de Electricidad -CDE-, y lo que fue luego la Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales –CDEEE-) ha hecho su esfuerzo. A Celso se le preguntó a qué nivel se encuentran actualmente los gastos operacionales de las distribuidoras de electricidad en relación con sus ingresos. Su respuesta es que todavía hay deudas y que las empresas van en línea con lo que es el presupuesto. “Y si tú me preguntas si yo estoy contento, yo nunca lo voy a estar, pero por lo menos se han estabilizado las deudas, no han aumentado. Ustedes saben que había un problema de medidores; ya eso se subsanó, ya hay medidores. Por ejemplo, Edeeste el año pasado instaló unos 48 mil y de enero a abril se instalaron 167 mil. El caso de los medidores de las otras no era tan grave, pero también había una situación. Nosotros tenemos serios problemas con los transformadores de distribución, por eso ustedes ven a veces sectores que se quejan. Ya están llegando y se hicieron las compras en enero. Ahora tenemos una noticia muy positiva, que hay una empresa muy buena que empieza a fabricar. Ahora llega una cantidad importante y se está pidiendo otra adicional, para acabar”, expuso. En otra parte del diálogo se comentó el hecho de que hace un tiempo desde el gobierno se ha anunciado que se aprovecharán los túneles del sistema de drenaje de la ciudad para soterrar el cableado eléctrico. Por ejemplo, se ha hecho esto en las redes de distribución en la Ciudad Colonial de Santo Domingo. Además del embellecimiento del entorno, el descenso de las líneas de distribución se traducirá en un aumento de la calidad y estabilidad del suministro de energía y de los servicios de telecomunicaciones en la zona, un impacto ambiental positivo, que no solo eliminará la contaminación visual sino el peligro que representan las conexiones eléctricas fraudulentas o precarias. “El trabajo que se ha realizado en la Zona Colonial es importantísimo”.

“Con respecto a muchos cables que seven colgando en la ciudad, en gran medida no se trata de cables del servicio eléctrico, sino de las telefónicas, por tanto, tenemos que trabajar con mucho cuidado para no afectar un cable de esos. Losestamos arreglando, y si ustedes toman alguna de las avenidas verán que se han organizado y tenemos brigadas preparadas para organizarlos, aunque no los quitemos”, sostuvo.

Cuidado con espantar los capitales

¿Qué impacto tiene la alta tasa de pérdidas energéticas en la capacidad de atraer inversiones extranjeras en el sector de generación? Pregunta al entrevistado. “Mira, nadie cree que las empresas son buena paga, porque las empresas se atrasan con los pagos. El sueño nuestro, en la CUED, es que en tres meses, por lo menos sepamos lo que debemos, porque muchas veces no sabemos (…). Perola deuda con los generadores está clara. No se les debe dinero. A los suplidores sí se les debe y llevar eso, no lo podemos hacer de la noche a la mañana. Queremos llevar eso a que si el suplidor me da treinta días, que sean esos treinta, y si me da sesenta días, que sean esos (…)”, apuntó. Se refiere al plazo otorgado por el suplidor para que se le pague. Celso Marranzini tiene claro que en la medida que se pague mejor, el crédito que se consiga será más amplio y se logra a la vez un precio mejor. El funcionario tiene previsto publicar mensualmente los estados de las distribuidoras, que en el pasado no se hacía. ¿Se han evaluado los contratos suscritos por las distribuidoras, especialmente aquellos relacionados con la compra de flotillas de vehículos, antes que usted asumiera en el Consejo Unificado de las Empresas Distribuidoras de Electricidad y que se abandonaban rápidamente? “Bueno, en el caso de Edesur, se quería seguir alquilando vehículos, pero todo eso se está controlando a partir de nuestra designación en el Consejo. Son muchas las cosas que tenemos que organizar, tantas que ustedes no se imaginan”, respondió. El CUED fue creado en agosto de 2020, año en el que Luis Abinader asumió la presidencia de la República (primer mandato). Por él pasaron varios presidentes antes que Celso Marranzini (designado en enero de este 2024). La creación fue parte del proceso de disolución de la CDEEE, así como de los consejos de administración de Edenorte, Edesur y Edeeste, de forma que un solo órgano se encargue desus operaciones. El consejo llegó a tener 90 personas, dijo Celso Marranzini; actualmente se maneja con cinco personas. Antes ocupaba un edificio de dos pisos, actualmente hace el trabajo en un piso. De larga experiencia en el ámbito empresarial, Marranzini tiene claro que la falta de inversión constante es un factor que pesa al momento de evaluar lo que ha estado ocurriendo en el ramo eléctrico del país, especialmente en la parte de distribución. “Naturalmente, se ha invertido, si no no tuviéramos lo que tenemos hoy. Pero nos referimos a una inversión que termine con las redes, que termine con las subestaciones que están sobrecargadas, que termine el alumbrado y por supuesto la parte de control, que de alguna forma se perdió. Hay muchos usuarios directos y usuarios que sin estar directos, se la buscan”, apuntó.

Explicó que ese es el trabajo que toca en estos cuatro años (de gobierno). “Lo primero es que hay dinero para la inversión, dinero que nunca había. Está muy claro que tenemos 300 millones de dólares por año para invertir, aparte de los fondos y los multilaterales, que son 650 millones. ¿Que vamos a invertir 300 millones de dólares en el año 2024? No. Ustedes saben que los procesos de compra se toman su tiempo y que hay que hacer licitación y hay materiales que toman tres y cuatro meses de ser fabricados, pero ya nosotros terminamos en este mes y el que viene, de dos presupuestos para el año venidero, y las distribuidoras saldrán a comprar todo lo que necesitan antes de final de año, cosa que durante el año que viene no haya necesidad de nada”, apuntó.

Hay un proceso que venía de 2023, de subestaciones, que es uno de los problemas graves que se está pasando ahora, según expuso Celso Marranzini. Informó que en Edenore, para el mes de diciembre quedará una sola subestación con sobrecarga (la de Bonao), mientras que la situación de Edeeste y Edesur es un poco más complicada. En el caso de la primera, tenía 41 subestaciones con sobrecarga y para diciembre o enero tendrá la mitad. Edesur va por el mismo camino. Garantizó que el tema de apagones en Azua, Neiba y Barahona se resolverá, porque se colocó una subestación nueva que permitirá eso.

[redflowernews]

Bulut Bağcı'ya dolandırıcılıktan suç duyurusu

World Tourism Forum'un eski Başkanı Bulut Bağcı'nın Tourism X (TRMX) isimli coin ile ilgili yüzlerce insanı milyonlarca Dolar dolandırdığı iddiası ile savcılığa suç duyurusunda bulunuldu.

Mağdurların avukatı Ahmet Keşli tarafından savcılığa yapılan suç duyurusunda, Bulut Bağcı'nın şu an Bakü Büyükelçisi olan amcası Cihat Bağcı'nın ismini kullandığı, kendisinin de Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ile irtibatta olduğu, gelirleri de seçimlerde ve parti işlerinde kullanılmak üzere Erdoğan'ın işaret ettiği yerlere aktardığını söyleyerek çevresinde güven kazandığı ifade edildi.

Toygun Atilla'nın konuyla ilgili olarak Patronlar Dünyası'nda yer alan yazısı şöyle:

Henüz 38 yaşında...

Çorumlu...

Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Turizm İşletmeciliği mezunu.

2009'da Genç Turizmciler Derneği Başkanı olması ile birlikte görünür oldu.

Girişimci, atılımcı ve ağzı iyi laf yapan, zeki birisi olarak tanınıyordu.

Gerçekten de, 2015'te henüz 30 yaşındayken World Tourism Forum'un Başkanı oldu.

Ülkelerin başkanları, bakanları, bürokratları ile ilişki içindeydi.

TURİZMİN DAVOSU'NDA BAŞKAN OLDU, ERDOĞAN İLE YAN YANA OTURDU

Turizmin Davos'u olarak bilinen World Tourism Forum 2016'da İstanbul Lütfi Kırdar Uluslararası Kongre ve Sergi Sarayı'nda yapıldığında 7 bin kişiye seslendi.

Toplantıda kimler yoktu ki,

Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, dönemin Başbakan Yardımcısı Mehmet Şimşek, dönemin Kültür ve Turizm Bakanı Mahir Ünal, Avupa Komisyonu eski Başkanı Jose Manuel Barroso, TÜRSAB Başkanı Başaran Ulusoy ve dünyanın her ülkesinden delegasyonlar konuklar arasındaydı.

AMCASI BAKÜ BÜYÜKELÇİSİ

Bulut Bağcı'nın amcası da şu an Bakü Büyükelçisi Cahit Bağcı'dan başkası değildi.

Çorum'lu Bulut Bağcı, World Tourism Forum Başkanlığını bırakmasından sonra kripto para işine ilgi duydu.

KRİPTO PARA İŞİNE SOYUNDU

Bulut Bağcı’nın TourismX isimli coin projesinin temelinde, toplanan paralarla uluslararası turizm projelerine yatırım yapılması ve müşterilerin bu kripto parayla otel ve uçak gibi seyahat elementlerini satın alabilmesi yatıyordu.

MİLYONLARCA DOLAR TOPLADI

Vaatlere göre Bağcı coinleri satmayacak, otellerden gelen gelirlerle de yeni alımlar yapılacaktı.

Bu vaatlerle milyonlarca Dolar topladı.

ÇAD HÜKÜMETİNİ DOLANDIRDI

Bulut Bağcı’nın TourismX Projesi aracılığıyla bir de Çad projesi vardı.

Ancak orada da bir dolandırıcılık olayı patladı.

N'Djamena'daki Toumaï Palace isimli oteli kiralamak ve tesise 8,2 Milyon Dolar yatırım yapmak üzere Çad Kültür, Tarihî Miras, Turizm ve El Sanatları Bakanlığı ile sözleşme imzaladı.  Ancak sözleşmenin koşullarını yerine getirmedi.

Bulut Bağcı, Çad hükümetinden 150'şer milyon Çad Frangı (500 Bin Dolar) almıştı. Çad Hükümeti resmi yazı yazarak bu parayı Bulut Bağcı'dan istedi.

Bulut Bağcı bir yandan Çad hükümetini dolandırırken diğer yandan da tokenlarını pazarladığı vatandaşların parasını alıyordu.

CUMHURBAŞKANI ERDOĞAN'IN İSMİNİ KULLANDI

Aslında hem Çad Hükümeti'nin hem de Bulut Bağcı'nın tokenlerine bel bağlayanları ortaya koyduğu imaj ve kendisini tanıtma şekli ile kandırıyordu.

O da, siyasi nüfuz sahibi olduğu ve Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'a yakın olduğu imajıydı.

Aslında bunların hepsi bir illüzyondu.

Sosyal medya hesaplarında Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ve siyasetçilerle ile fotoğraflarını paylaşarak kendi hakkındaki algıyı güçlendirmişti.

Hatta,

Token işini yapmasını kendisinden Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın istediği yalanını söylüyordu.

Bu iddiaları nereden mi biliyoruz.

13 KİŞİ SUÇ DUYURUSUNDA BULUNDU

İstanbul Anadolu Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığına giderek Bulut Bağcı hakkında şikayetçi olan ve TourismX coin mağduru olduğunu öne süren 13 kişinin şikayet dilekçesi ve suç duyurusundan.

Suç duyurusunda, Bulut Bağcı'nın dolandırdığı para miktarının 15 milyon dolar olduğu belirtilerek, suç gelirleri ile kendisi, kız kardeşi, eniştesi, annesi ve babası üzerine taşınır-taşınmaz varlığı edindiği, kripto para cüzdanlarında yüklü miktarda para biriktirdiği öne sürüldü.

[redflowernews]

Top Zimbabwe ambassador involved in gold smuggling scheme

Uebert Angel, appointed by President Mnangagwa, offered undercover reporters diplomatic cover to launder over $1bn cash.

One of Zimbabwe’s most influential diplomats, Uebert Angel, offered to use his status to launder millions of dollars through a gold-smuggling scheme, during an undercover operation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit

Angel, appointed ambassador-at-large and a presidential envoy by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March 2021, told reporters he would be able to carry large volumes of dirty cash into the country using his diplomatic status.

The 44-year-old, who claims to be a prophet and heads a congregation — the Good News Church — with branches in 15 countries, said he would facilitate a scheme through which unaccounted cash could be exchanged for Zimbabwe’s gold. Recipients of the gold could then sell the precious metal for legitimate money, effectively turning their cash clean.

Angel and his business partner Rikki Doolan also claimed that their laundering operations had the approval of Mnangagwa, who has been in power since November 2017, when Zimbabwe’s controversial former leader Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup.

“You want gold, gold we can do it right now, we can make the call right now, and it’s done,” Angel told Al Jazeera’s reporters. “It will land in Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe can’t touch it too until I get to my house. So, there can be a diplomatic plan.”

“So, it is a very, very easy thing,” he said.

Gold Mafia

Angel made the offer during an operation that was part of ‘Gold Mafia’, an investigation into several gold-smuggling gangs in Southern Africa, with Zimbabwe and South Africa as key hubs.

The investigation reveals how these gangs have turned Western sanctions meant to target Zimbabwe’s government into an opportunity to smuggle large quantities of gold and launder hundreds of millions of dollars through a complex web of companies and bribes.

Al Jazeera reporters, posing as Chinese nationals who were looking to launder large sums of money, were offered several ways to remove all stains of corruption from their dirty cash.

Among those mechanisms was the use of Angel’s diplomatic clout. Officially, the pastor-diplomat is tasked with finding investors to come to Zimbabwe. However, Angel made it clear that he was willing to help smuggle gold and launder money.

Zimbabwe needs dollars because the country’s own currency has lost its value in international trade due to hyperinflation. A commodity like gold is a good way to earn dollars, but international sanctions imposed on the country make it difficult for the government to export gold because of the additional scrutiny on officials in power.

“So you have to figure out other ways to do that,” Karen Greenaway, a former FBI investigator who tracks international money laundering schemes, told Al Jazeera. One way around: individual gold miners, who don’t face those restrictions.

This scenario makes Zimbabwe fertile ground for money launderers who can help the country earn dollars in exchange for gold.

The president’s niece

Central to Angel’s gold-for-dirty money operations is Henrietta Rushwaya, president of the Zimbabwe Miners Association. Rushwaya, who is also President Mnangagwa’s niece, told Angel and the reporters on a phone call that smuggling 100kg of gold each week would be no problem.

The scheme would need an initial investment of $10mn of dirty cash into the government’s gold refinery, Fidelity. Of that, $5mn would be held in reserve by Fidelity for the duration of the scam, with the rest being used every week to buy gold.

Once the gold is bought, another $5mn would be brought in to buy more gold until all the money had been laundered into the precious metal — which would then be sold internationally for legitimate, clean cash.

“They can buy the gold directly in cash, because we are the only sector in the country that is paying in foreign exchange on a cash basis,” Rushwaya said during the call.

‘Number one’

During the meetings, Angel and Doolan, also a British pastor and music artist, said everything they were doing had the blessings of ‘number one’, referring to Mnangagwa. Doolan even offered to set up a face-to-face meeting with Mnangagwa on the sidelines of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021.

The gang also offered to help launder money by building properties near the tourist town of Victoria Falls. This, Angel said, would be appreciated by Mnangagwa because it would allow him “to cut a ribbon”, and build his legacy as a leader who brought visible infrastructure investments into Zimbabwe.

“A politician wants to open something,” Angel told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters. “Gold is easy, but there is nowhere to cut a ribbon.”

Tendai Biti, former Zimbabwe minister of finance, told Al Jazeera that although gold trade by law should be overseen by the central bank, the vast majority of gold is smuggled out of the country.

“We have got world class deposits of gold, but we have nothing to show for it,” Biti said. “I think we are losing about a billion US dollars in illegal gold exports — which is a euphemism for gold smuggling.”

“The biggest challenge Zimbabwe now faces is the existential threat that comes from this mafia, the gold mafia.”

When asked for a response to Al Jazeera’s investigation, Fidelity denied all involvement in money laundering or smuggling. Mnangagwa, Angel, Doolan and Rushwaya did not respond to our inquiries.

[redflowernews]

KDKA Investigates: In Federal Lawsuit, Local Inventors Say InventHelp Let Them Down

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - As a kid, Brian Antonelli was tethered to his mother's apron strings, helping her make her signature Italian wedding soup. When she died, he had a dream -- to market the soup with his mother's name and image on the label.

"Cause that was the promise I made to my mom as she was dying in her hospital bed that I was going to do something for her."

Hopes of realizing that dream came into sharp focus when Antonelli contacted InventHelp, a Pittsburgh-based company, which as they name implies, offers to help would-be inventors find companies to develop their products and sell them to the public.

Antonelli: "They promised me that they were going to market my soup and get it into market." Sheehan: "And you were going to make a lot of money?" Antonelli: "I was going to make a lot of money." Sheehan: "Did that happen?" Antonelli: "No."

Soon after convincing him to take out a $10,000 loan to pay for their services, Antonelli says InventHelp disappeared, stopped returning phone calls and, he says, never shopped his soup to prospective companies. Today, he's in debt and his credit is ruined because he stopped payment on the loan. But that's not his biggest sorrow.

"It stopped me from making a promise to my mom, and that hurt me more than anything," he says.

Antonelli is one of several hundreds of plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court accusing InventHelp of "a deceptive and fraudulent inventing promotion scam that has bilked thousands of aspiring inventors into paying millions of dollars."

The suit claims the company dangles the prospect of riches, pressures prospective clients into expensive contracts, then reneges on their promise to market the product through a so-called "databank" of participating companies.

"In truth and in fact, many of these companies on these lists do not even exist and/or are sham companies. Others have not agreed to 'review new ideas in confidence,' have not signed non-disclosure agreements, and have no relationship whatsoever with InventHelp," the suit says.

Attorney Julie Pechersky Plitt said: "I would say this is fraud, pure and simple from start to finish. False promises, false companies, false licensing agreement. Everything about it is fraudulent."

KDKA's Andy Sheehan visited InventHelp's headquarters here in Pittsburgh -- he called and sent emails, seeking a response to these allegations but only received this short reply:

"InventHelp is very confident that it will prevail in (this) case, and is proud of the quality services it offers to inventors across the country."

On its website, the company prides itself on being "The Honest Invention Company," saying it's very upfront with would-be inventors about all of its fees, services and the long odds against their invention ever being developed or marketed.

InventHelp says it "makes no promises and does not imply a likelihood of success."

Sean Giliberti says the InventHelp representative he spoke with was very enthusiastic about his liquid therapy lamp -- which he describes as "a lava lamp on steroids."

He paid InventHelp $12,000, and while the company did secure a patent for the lamp, it also promised to market the lamp through its "databank."

But when Giliberti did not hear back, he decided to check himself. He found that several of the companies listed didn't exist, and he got this response from the ones he was able to contact:

Giliberti: "The people in charge were like, 'who's InventHelp? We don't know what you're talking about.'" Sheehan: "They never heard of them." Sheehan: "Not one person I called ever heard of InventHelp."

[redflowernews]

Tory party treasurer’s brother and business partner was involved in now-banned binary options industry

The brother and business partner of new Tory party co-treasurer Ehud Sheleg, was involved in a company promoting a controversial online investment industry that was later associated with serious fraud.

An investigation by Finance Uncovered, Private Eye and The Times of Israel has found that for three years, Ehud’s brother Ran was part of a company that marketed binary options – an industry largely run out of Israel.

Binary options were promoted as a form of financial product to thousands of investors around the world, but their sale was halted by European and Israeli regulators last year when it was found that the industry was rife with fraud.

A senior Israeli police officer said in 2017 “binary options caused Israel’s crime organisations to become significantly stronger”

Ran Sheleg, an Israeli, was a partner in a website binaryaffiliates.com which aimed to make money from promoting binary options brokers who were in some cases even telling investors they could learn to almost double their investments within an hour.

Regulators in various countries around the world would later issue serious warnings about a number of these brokers.

Mr Sheleg, 60, strongly denies he knew anything about fraudulent practice in the industry until the binary options scandal erupted years after he ended his association with binaryaffiliates.com.

He also told Finance Uncovered that he made no profits from binaryaffiliates.com, which he described as a failure. There is no suggestion he committed any fraud.

His brother and business partner, Ehud – one of the Tories’ biggest donors and appointed the party’s co-treasurer and financial gatekeeper last summer – strongly denied any knowledge of binaryaffiliates.com.

He said he had no involvement at all with the website and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by him.

His brother’s involvement in the binary options industry from 2009 until 2012 was established after a wider ranging investigation by Private Eye, The Times of Israel and Finance Uncovered into Ehud’s Mayfair-headquartered Halcyon Gallery, an exclusive art dealership that boasts of close ties to the Royal Family and the Conservative Party.

Ehud, a 63 year old also known as Udi, runs the gallery. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. Ran Sheleg is the “co-protector” and one of 12 beneficiaries of that trust. Ehud is also a beneficiary.

Ran denied he and his brother were business partners but then added that Ehud had appointed him as director of Halcyon Art International Ltd, a Hong Kong company.

And it was from this company that Ran Sheleg sent a series of emails that would later reveal his involvement in the binary options industry.

The emails, written in 2012, was discovered in the Panama Papers, a huge leaks of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that caused international outrage when they were published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016.

Ran’s emails show his dealings with Mossack Fonseca to set up a BVI company for his binary options business. In the emails, Ran also said he was ending his association with the business, having been involved with it since late 2009.

The business, binaryaffiliates.com, aimed to make money by encouraging people to invest with various binary options brokers. During Ran’s involvement with it, it promoted brands that were telling investors they could make up to 81% returns rapidly.

Affiliate marketers promoted binary options schemes though blog posts, spam emails and videos promising to reveal the secrets of online trading.

Binaryaffiliates.com was paid a commission for each investor it successfully referred. But in the three years that Ran was involved with it, he said it was a failure and that it generated only £122,000 in gross revenues in total, with £118,000 incurred in direct costs alone. He said he did not make any money personally and nor did he take a salary.

At the time, marketing binary options was perfectly legal.

He also said he was “shocked” to discover a few years later that the industry was rife with fraud.

A year after he ended his involvement with the business, one brand, AnyOption, was put on a warning list by regulators in Quebec.

Another brand promoted by binaryaffiliates.com, OptionRally, was also promoted by US citizen Michael Shah, who is currently being prosecuted for fraud by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission in the US. In an online chatroom in 2014, Shah described the brands he was promoting as “100% BS [bullshit]”.

Also during the time Ran was involved with binaryaffiliates.com, it promoted at least one brand that used the Spot Option trading platform. Last year, a US grand jury indictment against Jared Davis, a US citizen who ran a binary options scheme which used the Spot Option platform, described Spot Option as “fraudulent”.

In 2010, Binaryaffiliates.com also promoted EZTrader which later became the “official Binary Options Trading Partner” for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

EZTrader was fined $1.7m by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2016. The SEC fine was for misleading potential investors. The SEC stated at the time that fewer than 3% of US citizens investing with EZTrader made any profit on the site.

Ran Sheleg told Finance Uncovered: “For a limited period of time (the end of 2009 – 2012), I invested and was involved in an online business marketing binary options. This was at a time when no one was aware of misconduct in the industry which sadly has subsequently come to light.

“I was not aware of the misconduct nor did I have any involvement. Binary Affiliates had next to no revenue, lost money and was closed in 2013.

“At no time did my brother, Udi, have any involvement whatsoever and any attempt to link him is desperate and utterly scurrilous.”

Binary options trading was banned in Israel in early 2018, after Gabi Biton, Superintendent of the Israel Police, had made a bombshell speech about the industry to a committee of MPs in the country’s Knesset parliament the year before.

“Our eyes have been opened,” the police officer had said. “What we’re seeing here is a massive organised criminal enterprise. We are talking about criminals at various levels of crime organisations, up to the very top.

“Binary options caused Israel’s crime organisations to become significantly stronger,” he added.

In the UK, victims reported losses of £59m, with the scale of the fraud likely to be much larger.

Months after the trade was banned outright in Israel, regulators across Europe banned the sale to retail investors.

When questioned about the binary options business by Finance Uncovered, Tory co-treasurer Ehud Sheleg said he had been completely unaware of the company in which his brother had been involved.

He strongly denied any money from the binary options business had been invested in the Halcyon Gallery, an art dealership that has catapulted him into the social circles of the British Establishment.

The gallery, fuelled by an influx of international money into the London art market, has seen exceptional growth in the past decade.

Latest company accounts available on Companies House show a turnover of £88m last year, up from £38m in 2010.

The Sheleg family, through a British Virgin Islands company and a family trust, bought a 50% share in the Halcyon Gallery in 1998 when it was a Birmingham-based art dealership.

The gallery sponsors events at Buckingham Palace, and has co-hosted a party with Princess Eugenie. It also sponsors an annual charity polo match, where Princes William and Harry have played for the Halcyon Gallery team.

Another focus of Halcyon’s strategic generosity has been the Conservative Party. When Boris Johnson was London mayor, the gallery in New Bond Street hosted a drinks party for the Mayor’s charity, the Mayor’s Fund for London.

Halcyon started directly funding the Conservatives in 2010, but shortly before the 2017 general election, Ehud started donating personally – and in huge amounts. Over the past two years he has donated £1.88m to the party’s stretched coffers. His generosity was rewarded last year when Theresa May formally appointed him party co-treasurer.

Both Ran and Ehud deny that Ran has any involvement in the Halcyon’s UK business. Ran Sheleg categorically stated that he was not a business partner of Ehud. But corporate filings suggest he plays an important role in Halcyon’s affairs.

In addition to being the protector of the trust which owns the Sheleg family’s share of the Halcyon Gallery in the UK, he was appointed as a director of Halcyon Art International by Ehud Sheleg. He is also a director of Halcyon’s Shanghai company alongside his brother, and sources say he has been a frequent visitor to the gallery in London.

During the research for this article, Ehud Sheleg provided a series of background observations and comments but when asked for an on the record quote prior to publication, he instructed lawyers from Farrer & Co.

His solicitor, Julian Pike, head of reputation management at Farrer & Co, threatened Finance Uncovered with potential legal action in the event of any defamation of his client. Mr Sheleg then declined to provide a comment.

The Conservative Party did not respond to repeated requests for comment.