Michael Brown (Liberal Democrats donor)

Michael Robert Alexander Brown (born 19 April, 1966) is a Scottish businessman, who between 10 February and 30 March 2005 donated £2.4 million to the Liberal Democrats. He was the largest donor the party had ever had, giving ten times more than anything it had received before. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1793681,00.html "The man who came from nowhere to bankroll the Liberal Democrats"] , "The Times", 23 September 2005]

Electoral Commission on donation to Liberal Democrat party

Because he was residing in Majorca, Spain, at the time of the donation, and was not registered to vote in the United Kingdom, Michael Brown used a company name as the official legal donor. In October 2006 the High Court in London ruled that the company which Brown used to donate the money to the Liberal Democrats, 5th Avenue Partners had never traded in bonds. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2425381,00.html "Lib Dems face £2.4m demand 'in weeks'"] , "The Times", 28 October 2006] The Electoral Commission issued a statement stating: "The Electoral Commission has previously made clear its view that it was reasonable for the Liberal Democrats - based on the information available to them at the time - to regard the donations they received from 5th Avenue Partners Ltd in 2005, totaling just over £2.4m, as permissible. It remains the Commissions view that the Liberal Democrats acted in good faith at that time, and the Commission is not re-opening the question of whether the party or its officers failed to carry out sufficient checks into the permissibility of the donations. Nevertheless, we have always said that if any additional information that has a bearing on the permissibility of the donations comes to light, we would consider the matter further. It is not clear to the Commission that 5th Avenue Partners Ltd was carrying on business in the UK at the time the donations were made. If not, then the donations were impermissible. Under Section 58 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Commission has the power to apply to a court for an order that the party must forfeit to the Consolidated Fund an amount equal to the value of any impermissible donation. We are considering the available evidence and expect to reach a decision on whether to apply for such an order in the next few weeks." [ [http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/newsreleasedonations.cfm/news/596 "Statement on Fifth Avenue 27.10.06"] , Electoral Commission, 27 October 2006]

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