The Scottish Conservatives have received £96,000 from members of the influential billionaire Keswick family, whose company is ultimately owned through an offshore
tax haven, it has been revealed.
Jardine Matheson, headquartered in Hong Kong but incorporated in Bermuda, has ties to the Keswick family, who have contributed nearly £2 million to the Tory Party, anti-EU groups, and the pro-Union Better Together campaign.
The origins of Jardine Matheson trace back to the 1800s, with its founders, including an ancestor from Dumfriesshire, accused of sparking the Opium Wars that led to British colonial rule over Hong Kong.
The Keswick family, now owners of extensive estates in southwest Scotland, directed £82,000 of their Scottish donations to the Dumfries and Galloway Tories, with an additional £18,000 allocated to local politician David Mundell.
Henry Keswick, reportedly part of an elite Tory donor group attending private meetings with Prime Ministers, underscores concerns from transparency advocates about the influence of donors in politics, pushing for stricter donation limits and oversight.
While legal, these donations have sparked criticism from Scottish Labour, with MSP Colin Smyth accusing the Tories of allowing "landed gentry" to sway elections, highlighting the stark contrast between donor wealth and local economic challenges.
The Keswick family's historical ties to Jardine Matheson, renowned for its vast global workforce and significant economic presence, amplify concerns about political influence stemming from offshore financial interests.
Efforts to reach the Keswick family and Scottish Conservatives for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.