Johnson has case to answer over Jennifer Arcuri, says lawyer
March 31, 2021, 10:19 am

Johnson has case to answer over Jennifer Arcuri, says lawyer

US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri alleged in the Sunday Mirror that she had had a four-year affair with Boris Johnson.

PM challenged over issue of potential undeclared personal interests when London mayor by ex-chair of City Hall standards panel

Boris Johnson does have a case to answer over failing to declare personal interests following allegations made by US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, according to the chair of an independent standards panel that rebuked him when he was mayor for failing to declare an interest in the mother of one of his children.

In 2010 the City Hall panel recommended Johnson and his staff be given training in the importance of declaring personal interests after he failed to acknowledge his extramarital affair with Helen Macintyre, an unpaid adviser who it later emerged had given birth to his daughter in 2008.

In 2012 Johnson began a four-year affair with Arcuri, she alleged in an interview with the Sunday Mirror this week. Arcuri benefited from thousands of pounds in public money, including from the mayor’s promotional agency, London and Partners (L&P), and was given coveted places on trade missions to New York and Tel Aviv alongside Johnson, despite failing to meet the criteria for those trips.

Johnson’s register of interests made no mention of Arcuri and he insisted in 2019 that had no interest to declare. On Monday Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, claimed that he acted with “honesty and integrity” as mayor and had “no case to answer” over Arcuri’s allegations.

But Claer Lloyd-Jones, a lawyer who chaired the 2010 panel into Johnson’s affair with Macintyre, said Johnson does have questions to answer.

Speaking to the Guardian, she said: “It sounds from what she is alleging that there was an interest to declare but the evidence hasn’t been presented. If he is going to continue to say there was no interest to declare, someone has got to make a decision about it. I would certainly like to know what he has got to say about it.”

Johnson is expected to be asked to appear before the London assembly’s oversight committee when it resumes its inquiry into the allegations later this year.

Last year the Independent Office for Police Conduct said Johnson should not face a criminal investigation into allegations that he favoured Arcuri. But it did criticise his failure to declare an interest in her.

It said his failure to ensure a “complete separation between him and this decision-making” over Arcuri’s places on trade missions “could be construed as a breach of the broader Nolan principles in the sense that he could see that Ms Arcuri was obtaining a networking opportunity via the mayor’s own business enterprise agency (L&P)”.

It added: “Mr Johnson’s passive approach could be characterised as a breach of paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct: ‘the mayor must not conduct himself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing their office or the authority into disrepute.”

Lloyd-Jones said the Conservative government’s decision to scrap standards committees in local government made it more difficult to highlight potential breaches of the code of conduct, including conflicts of interest.

She said: “We know there had been the previous case, which I chaired and which ensured that he understood the code of conduct one way or another.”

She said: “If the standards committee was still in existence and if a complaint had been made that there was a breach of the code in relation to Jennifer Arcuri and Boris Johnson, he could not claim that he didn’t understand the code a second time.”

source: Matthew Weaver

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.