Peer and Benjamin Wegg-Prosser met disgraced financier before formal foundation of Global Counsel
Boss of lobbying firm founded with Peter Mandelson quits
Peter Mandelson’s former lobbying firm sought work with companies controlled by the governments of Russia and China shortly after he left ministerial office, according to emails the disgraced former minister forwarded to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The emails show how Mandelson and Benjamin Wegg-Prosser scrambled to drum up high-paying foreign business after co-founding Global Counsel even as Mandelson remained a member of the House of Lords. Potential clients included the Russian state investment firm Rusnano and the state-owned China International Capital Corporation, the emails suggest.
The emails also showed that Wegg-Prosser met Epstein at his New York townhouse in 2010 to discuss the business. A person with knowledge of the situation said that the meeting was at Mandelson’s request and only lasted 25 minutes. Wegg-Prosser resigned as Global Counsel’s chief executive on Friday amid intense scrutiny.
