Nice work if you can get it. The Ukrainian oligarch being sued in the High Court by his own rabbi alleges he employed the holy man to run his charity foundation in London on a salary of £10,000 a month.
Rabbi Yonah Pruss was hired by Gennadiy Bogolyubov on the recommendation of another rabbi in Ukraine. But now Rabbi Pruss is suing his old paymaster, claiming he diddled him out of his share in two property deals. The billionaire denies any such commission was owed on the properties in Trafalgar Square and Knightsbridge. As well as running the Bogolyubov Foundation charity for Jewish causes, Rabbi Pruss found Bogolyubov his luxury pads in Belgrave Square, Montrose Place and Lancelot Place when the billionaire moved to London in 2009, Mr B’s counterclaim says. Bogolyubov has a far bigger case pending against Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk. So Ukrainian unrest isn’t limited to Kiev.
Shaw loath to bang his own gong
The Crown Estate’s David Shaw was typically self-deprecating when his recent OBE came up during proceedings at the well-attended annual lunch of the Regent Street Association.
“It stands for Other Buggers’ Efforts,” the head of the Regent Street portfolio told retailers, hoteliers and colleagues dining in the Langham. “And the other buggers are in this room.” Strange to think the world’s oldest street association was set up in 1925 to oppose redevelopment by the Crown. After a revamp that saw tartan shops swapped for luxury goods and a record Christmas quarter, they’re all friends together, as seen by a beaming Crown Estate boss Alison Nimmo. Window-display awards went to Karen Millen and Hackett, and festivities carried on through the afternoon.
A costly jobs cull at Bank
Deloitte’s number-crunchers have found £18 million in savings at the Bank of England, which means 100 people will be losing their jobs. But how much did Threadneedle Street pay Deloitte to carry out its review? The Bank isn’t saying, and furthermore it’s exempt from disclosure under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act because it might be “prejudicial to commercial interests”. Or is it just embarrassed at saying how much it cost to bring in a busload of consultants to sack people? At least the Bank is doing its bit to stop unemployment falling to the 7% forward guidance threshold...
* Up the workers at WH Smith’s Birmingham distribution centre. Staff have voted in the GMB as their trade union, with 63% in favour. GMB membership development officer David Day promised to safeguard employment rights and make the stationery retailer’s site “the leader in fairness and employee terms”. Never mind that David, what about the carpets? Will the union ensure the depot is better upholstered than some of threadbare floorings in the stores?
* Excitement in the JPMorgan offices after ex-BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders gave her first Europe-wide presentation. “It’s like an in-house Newsnight!” gushed City Spy’s mole, a big Flanders fan. “And she scolded John Humphrys for not knowing what deflation means.” Flanders, chief market strategist at the investment bank, also said she had had to condense complex issues into 60-second slots on the Beeb.
