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4 years ago

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A Conservative donor has suggested the party convenes a “special investigation'” into conflicts of interest surrounding the Tory co-chairman Ben Elliot.

Mohammed Amersi, a telecoms entrepreneur and philanthropist, has also argued the party should improve its governance structures and remove Mr Elliot if he does not comply.

“[Ben Elliot] has done a great job in terms of raising money,” Mr Amersi said.

“If there are any lapses in governance… they can be easily structured and addressed. Then the party and the board has to see whether he is somebody who’s willing and able to work within those structures.

“If the answer to that is yes, give him a chance. If the answer to that is no, then perhaps invite him to reconsider his position.”

Mr Amersi and his partner have donated £750,000 to the party over the last four years, and has since met Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior cabinet figures.

But he has raised concerns about the blurred lines between Mr Elliot’s personal, political and business interests.

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As well as his role as the party’s chief fundraiser, Mr Elliot runs Quintessentially, a “concierge” service for the super rich.

He is the nephew of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

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Mr Elliot also co-founded the PR and lobbying company Hawthorn Advisers, but says he is not involved in their day-to-day work.

He has been accused of soliciting charity donations in return for access to Prince Charles. There is no suggestion the future king was aware of this.

When approached at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Elliot refused to answer questions from Sky News.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Ben Elliot’s business and charitable work are entirely separate to the voluntary work he does for the party.

“Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”

Clarence House has been approached for comment.

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South Korea to impose bank-level liability on crypto exchanges after Upbit hack: Report

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4 hours ago

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December 7, 2025

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South Korea to impose bank-level liability on crypto exchanges after Upbit hack: Report

South Korea is preparing to impose bank-level, no-fault liability rules on crypto exchanges, holding exchanges to the same standards as traditional financial institutions amid the recent breach at Upbit.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing new provisions that would require exchanges to compensate customers for losses stemming from hacks or system failures, even when the platform is not at fault, The Korea Times reported on Sunday, citing officials and local market analysts.

The no-fault compensation model is currently applied only to banks and electronic payment firms under Korea’s Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

The regulatory push follows a Nov. 27 incident involving Upbit, operated by Dunamu, in which more than 104 billion Solana-based tokens, worth approximately 44.5 billion won ($30.1 million), were transferred to external wallets in under an hour.

Related: Do Kwon says five-year US sentence is enough as he faces 40 years in South Korea

Crypto exchanges face bank-level oversight

Regulators are also reacting to a pattern of recurring outages. Data submitted to lawmakers by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) shows the country’s five major exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, reported 20 system failures since 2023, affecting over 900 users and causing more than 5 billion won in combined losses. Upbit alone recorded six failures impacting 600 customers.

The upcoming legislative revision is expected to mandate stricter IT security requirements, higher operational standards and tougher penalties. Lawmakers are weighing a rule that would allow fines of up to 3% of annual revenue for hacking incidents, the same threshold used for banks. Currently, crypto exchanges face a maximum fine of $3.4 million.

The Upbit breach has also drawn political scrutiny over delayed reporting. Although the hack was detected shortly after 5 am, the exchange did not notify the FSS until nearly 11 am. Some lawmakers have alleged the delay was intentional, occurring minutes after Dunamu finalized a merger with Naver Financial.

Related: South Korea targets sub-$680 crypto transfers in sweeping AML crackdown

South Korea pushes for stablecoin bill

As Cointelegraph reported, South Korean lawmakers are also pressuring financial regulators to deliver a draft stablecoin bill by Dec. 10, warning they will push ahead without the government if the deadline is missed.