THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair’s new paymaster is an obscure oligarch with business links to Syria, Iran and Afghanistan, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Nizami Piriyev, an Azerbaijan-based millionaire, paid Mr Blair to fly to Baku, the capital, earlier this week to open his new “methanol plant” funded by a British government-backed bank.
The disclosure comes amid growing scrutiny of Mr Blair’s network of private backers, with the Kuwaiti government understood to be one of his biggest financial supporters.
The former prime minister has earned an estimated £14 million since leaving Downing Street in June 2007. He no longer has to disclose the sources of his income.
Westminster watchdogs have raised concerns over the employment of former ministers, including prime ministers, by the private sector after they leave office.
Mr Blair typically charges tens of thousands of pounds simply to give a speech and is therefore thought to have received more than £100,000 for his trip to Azerbaijan.
He made the trip to Baku, his first to the former Soviet bloc country, to open the methanol plant of Azmeco, the Azerbaijan Methanol Company. Mr Blair’s presence as the “special guest” of Mr Piriyev, the company’s chairman, surprised many onlookers. >>> Holly Watt and Robert Winnett | Saturday, December 05, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: Blair, Prince Andrew... and a private meeting in Azerbaijan >>> Ian Gallagher in Baku, Azerbaijan | Saturday, December 05, 2009
