Baroness Mone hits back at PM – as Starmer urges govt to ‘come clean’ over role in PPE scandal

Published

1 year ago

December 18, 2023

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Baroness Michelle Mone has hit out at the prime minister after he insisted he took the scandal surrounding a PPE company she was linked to “incredibly seriously”.

The Tory-appointed peer and her husband, Doug Barrowman, have been embroiled in a row over their associations with PPE MedPro after it was awarded multi-million-pound contracts by the government for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.

The pair continually denied any involvement with the firm, but leaked documents showed she had recommended PPE MedPro to Cabinet Office ministers – including the now Housing Secretary Michael Gove – which saw the company added to the so-called “VIP lane” and given two contracts totalling more than £200m.

Politics live: Govt takes scandal ‘incredibly seriously’ – PM

On Sunday, Baroness Mone admitted her involvement with the business, and that around £60m in profits from the contracts was being held in trusts by Mr Barrowman, which she could benefit from in the future.

But she claimed the government had made her and her husband “scapegoats” for wider failings of PPE procurement throughout the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak refused to comment on the situation due to live legal proceedings, as PPE MedPro is currently being sued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over claims millions of the gowns it supplied failed to meet the standard required – something Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman deny.

The company is also under investigation by the National Crime Agency.

Mr Sunak insisted, however, that he and the government “take all these things incredibly seriously”.

But in response, Baroness Mone called him out on X – formerly known as Twitter – posting: “What is Rishi Sunak talking about?

“I was honest with the Cabinet Office, the government and the NHS in my dealings with them. They all knew about my involvement from the very beginning.”

A spokesman for Baroness Mone told Sky News that there are over 1,000 individual pieces of correspondence between her, the Cabinet Office, DHSC and Michael Gove in relation to the procurement of PPE.

A spokesman said: “Whilst Baroness Mone has now admitted she made a mistake in her dealings with the media, the government were all aware of her involvement from the very beginning. Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman dispute the claims by DSHC that their product was not to specification, and intend to clear their name.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has demanded the government “comes clean” over the role ministers played in dealing with Baroness Mone during the COVID crisis.

In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, she claimed she had contacted Mr Gove at the start of the pandemic following a “call to arms for all lords, baronesses, MPs, senior civil servants, to help, because they needed massive quantities of PPE”.

Baroness Mone added: “I just said, ‘we can help, and we want to help’. And he was like, ‘oh my goodness, this is amazing’.”

Sir Keir called the scenario “a shocking disgrace from top to bottom”, adding: “As every day goes past, there are more questions that need to be answered.”

But he focused in on the alleged roles of Mr Gove and other ministers, saying they “may have started this unhappy story in the first place”.

The Labour leader told reporters: “The government needs to come clean. It needs to make a statement [to the Commons] about that.”

He added: “There are now serious questions that I think Michael Gove [and] the government now need to answer.

“Who made the original contact? What was the nature of that discussion that led to the situation that we now learn developed?

“I think they should make a statement in the House of Commons today about this so that the public can hear first-hand what actually happened here.”

However, despite the government confirming three separate ministerial statements in the Commons this afternoon, none will focus on the scandal.

Baroness Mone has since accused Mr Gove and the Department of Health and Social Care of overseeing “huge waste” in PPE contracts, adding they have had “questions to answer for a very long time”.

The lingerie entrepreneur was appointed as a peer by David Cameron in 2015, but she is currently taking a leave of absence.

The Lords’ standards commissioner is carrying out an investigation into whether she breached the code of conduct by not declaring her interests in PPE MedPro.

Asked whether the peer should be expelled from the Lords, Sir Keir said: “I don’t think she should be in the Lords. I think the government should be held to account for this.”

His comments echoed those made by energy minister and Tory peer Lord Callanan to Sky News on Monday morning, where he said Baroness Mone should “see sense” and not return to the upper chamber.

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Australian court ruling could lead to $640M in Bitcoin tax refunds

Published

5 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Australian court ruling could lead to 0M in Bitcoin tax refunds

A court decision in Australia could open the door to as much as $640 million in capital gains tax (CGT) refunds on Bitcoin transactions after a judge ruled that crypto should be treated as money rather than a taxable asset.

On May 19, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that the decision arose within a criminal case involving federal police officer William Wheatley, who allegedly stole 81.6 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2019. At the time, the assets were worth roughly $492,000. At current market prices, the tokens are valued at more than $13 million.

In the case, Judge Michael O’Connell of Victoria ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as a form of money rather than property, likening the digital asset to Australian dollars rather than to shares, gold or foreign currency.

The interpretation could set a legal precedent, potentially placing Bitcoin transactions outside the scope of Australia’s current CGT regime.

New court ruling challenges Australian crypto tax laws

In an AFR interview, tax lawyer Adrian Cartland said the verdict “totally upends” the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) current position.

Since 2014, the ATO has classified crypto assets as CGT assets. This means that users must pay tax when selling or trading them. Under the ATO’s guidance, any disposal of Bitcoin, including selling it for fiat, exchanging it for another crypto or using it to purchase goods or services, constitutes a CGT event.

This framework has been the basis for taxing cryptocurrency transactions in Australia for over a decade. However, the recent ruling challenges the approach by suggesting that Bitcoin functions more like money than property. This potentially exempts it from CGT.

Tax refunds could reach $640 million

Cartland said it was held that Bitcoin is Australian money. “That is, it is not a CGT asset. Therefore, acquisitions and disposals of Bitcoin have no tax consequences,” the tax lawyer added.

If the ruling is upheld on the appeal, Cartland estimates that there could be potential tax refunds totalling 1 billion Australian dollars ($640 million).

However, while Cartland thinks there could be up to a billion in refunds, the ATO said there were no official figures that confirm the amount to be potentially refunded if the case changes how Bitcoin is taxed in Australia.

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Revolut eyes French license and $1.1B expansion amid EU growth

Published

6 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Revolut eyes French license and .1B expansion amid EU growth

Revolut, a European neobank with crypto support, plans to invest more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license.

According to a May 19 Fortune report, Revolut representatives announced the initiative during the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The London-based neobank also plans to set up its new European Union-serving headquarters in Paris, promising to invest 1 billion euro and hire at least 200 people within three years.

Revolut spokespeople also said that the firm is in the process of submitting an application to the French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. According to an anonymous source cited by Fortune, the regulator has been pushing the neobank to get a license to improve supervision due to its popularity in France.

Revolut currently employs about 300 people and serves five million customers in France. This makes the nation the neobank’s top European Union market.

Aiming for the stars

Revolut hopes to onboard 10 million users by the end of next year and then double that number by 2030. The firm already offers loans, trading and cryptocurrency support in its mobile-first banking platform.

The neobank has seen rapid growth ever since its founding in 2015. The company recently received a $45 billion valuation and reportedly served over 55 million customers as of late May.

Revolut’s 2024 annual report release shows that the firm’s 2024 revenue was 3.1 billion British pounds ($4 billion). A recent Financial News article also puts the company’s headcount at 10,133 employees as of Dec. 31, 2024.

An increasingly regulated institution

Revolut obtained its UK banking license in late July 2024, where 11 million of its customers are located. Now, the neobank is aggressively looking to obtain similar permits across other jurisdictions, with 10 applications underway.

Revolut received the Prepaid Payment Instruments license from India’s central bank earlier this month. This license allows the bank to offer multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services in India.

EU-based Revolut customers now leverage its Lithuania operations. The firm received a banking license in Lithuania at the end of 2018, enabling it to serve customers across the European Economic Area better.

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Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Published

7 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Dubai’s crypto regulator has given licensed digital asset companies until June 19 to comply with its updated activity-based Rulebooks to enhance market integrity and risk oversight.

On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced that it had released Version 2.0 of the Rulebooks.

The regulator said it had strengthened controls around margin trading and token distribution services, harmonised compliance requirements across all licensed activities and given clearer definitions for collateral wallet arrangements.

VARA’s team will engage with licensed entities and expects the companies to comply with the updated rules after a 30-day transition period.

“In line with global regulatory best practices, a 30-day transition period has been granted to all impacted virtual asset service providers [VASPs], with full compliance required by 19 June 2025,” VARA wrote.

VARA enhances supervisory mechanisms

VARA highlighted that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms across several regulated activities. This includes advisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending and borrowing, virtual asset (VA) management and investment, and VA transfer and settlement services.

A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the updates will bring consistency across all activity-based rules defining core operational terms. The spokesperson gave examples of terms like “client assets,” “qualified custodians,” and “collateral requirements” as some of the terms more consistently defined in the update.

The update also aligned risk management and disclosure obligations, where activities overlap, in areas like brokerage, custody and exchange.

“The aim was to reduce ambiguity and help VASPs navigate cross-functional compliance more easily,” VARA told Cointelegraph.

Dubai regulator tightens leverage thresholds for margin trading

As for margin trading, the VARA spokesperson said they tightened leverage thresholds, mandated clearer collateralisation standards, and enhanced the monitoring obligations for VASPs offering this feature.

Margin trading allows traders to control large positions with smaller amounts of capital. It amplifies both gains and losses. Tightening the leverage traders use helps limit the risks of widespread liquidations in a market downturn.

The crypto regulator introduced a new section on token distribution that sets out licensing prerequisites, investor protections and marketing restrictions. The spokesperson emphasized the marketing restrictions, especially for “retail-facing offers.”

“It’s about aligning with global conduct expectations and closing observed regulatory gaps,” the VARA spokesperson said.