Page 26 QQQ Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Lord Grade’s
£2.5m court
battle with
China tycoon
CONSERVATIVE peer Lord
Grade is locked in a High
Court battle with a former
business partner he now
accuses of illegal activity, it
can be revealed.
The former BBC chairman is fac-
ing questions over his judgment
after teaming with an entrepre-
neur who allegedly boasted of
being jailed and is accused of being
party to Ponzi-style schemes.
Lord Grade, chairman of the Lords’
select committee on the impact ofclaiming he was owed £2.5million.
The parties will battle it out at a
London hearing today. Lord Grade
has already reported Mr Zheng to
the Government’s Serious Fraud
Office over the botched fundraising.
Documents – seen by the Daily Mail- that are due to be put forward by
Lord Grade and his associates claim
that a company associated with Mr
Zheng in China is under criminal
investigation for alleged illegal pub-
lic fundraising.
Another raid on the Chinese busi-
ness, which had its operations sus-
pended, was announced by the US
Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion in November. Documents also
suggest that Mr Zheng was named in
a criminal judgement in China in
2017 as being a beneficiary of an ille-
gal pyramid selling scheme.
The revelations shine an uncom-
fortable light on the business deal-
ings of the Tory peer, who regularly
claims his full £313-a-day allowance
for sitting in the Lords.
Some Gate investors claim money
running into ‘millions of pounds’ has
been misappropriated by the Gate
Ventures board. They accuse Lord
Grade and other board members of
‘potentially unlawful transactions’.
A spokesman for Gate Ventures
said that when Mr Zheng offered to
raise further funds, he had been
‘vouched for’ by the company’s pre-
vious largest shareholder so ‘the
board felt it was ok to take him up on
his offer’. A spokesman for Mr Zheng
refused to comment ahead of the
court proceedings.
By Glen Keogh
‘Botched
fundraising’the gambling industry, even travelled
with the businessman to Macau, one
of the world’s gambling hotspots, to
convince investors to pump £7.5mil-
lion into his controversial, loss-mak-
ing, media company.
During the 2018 roadshow, he
described Zheng Yongxiong, known
as Quentin, as his ‘partner’ while
attempting to drum up funding in
Gate Ventures, which backs West
End shows and films.
Lord Grade, 76, is chairman of the
company and the Duchess of York
was a non-executive director until
stepping down in December.
Mr Zheng is said to have promised
that the Far East roadshows would
raise £7.5million, which has not
materialised. However he launched
court action attempting to place
Gate Ventures into administrationGenesis reborn! Collins and
Co reunited after 13 years
Back again: Phil Collins
GENESIS are to reform for a UK
tour 13 years after their last live
performance.
Phil Collins will be joined by orig-
inal bandmates Tony Banks and
Mike Rutherford for the dates at
the end of the year – but founding
singer Peter Gabriel is not
expected to take part.
The band will announce the news
on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast
show this morning.
It comes after they sparked
rumours of a reunion by posting
an old photo on their Instagram
feed with the caption: ‘And then
there were three.’
Genesis, who formed in 1967 with
a line-up also including Anthony
Phillips and original drummer Chris
Stewart, were one of the pioneersof 1970s prog rock before scoring
big hits such as I Can’t Dance, Mama
and Invisible Touch with a more
commercial sound in the 80s and
90s. They have sold more than 100
million records worldwide, with
Gabriel, Collins – who joined the
band as a drummer in 1970 – and
Rutherford also launching hugely
successful solo careers.
They split in 1996 and briefly reu-
nited for their 40th anniversary in- Tickets for the concerts in
November and December will go
on sale at the end of the month.
The news will come as a shock to
fans after Collins, 69, said in 2018
he could no longer play drums
since he had major back surgery.
By Helena Kelly
Follow me: Mike Rutherford, Collins and Tony Banks in 1990