London - Britain's Conservatives faced fresh embarrassment on Wednesday after a financier contradicted its account of how it rejected a potential donation from a company owned by Russian's richest man.
Nat Rothschild, scion of the wealthy banking dynasty and friend to both Oleg Deripaska and Conservative finance spokesperson George Osborne, also said that a former advisor to ex-US president Bill Clinton backed his version of events.
Osborne, Conservative leader David Cameron's closest ally, admitted Tuesday to having met with Deripaska five times, but denied having requested or received a donation - reportedly £50 000 (about R705 000) - from him.
Only individuals who appear on Britain's electoral roll or legitimate British firms can donate to political parties.
According to Rothschild, on August 24 he discussed with Osborne and Tory fundraiser Andrew Feldman the prospect of a donation being made to the party by Leyland DAF, a UK-based company owned by Deripaska, at the financier's villa on the Greek island of Corfu, before continuing the talk on the Russian's yacht.
He said the conversation took place in the presence of James Goodwin, a New York-based hedge fund manager and former Clinton advisor, who "recalls that the subject of a donation by Mr Deripaska's UK company also arose briefly while we were on the boat, but the conversation gained no traction."
Rothschild added that at dinner later that evening, "Mr Osborne was interested in whether and how such a donation could be secured."
He said the next time the issue arose was during a telephone conversation he had with Feldman in "mid-September", where he was "left with the impression that the Conservative Party remained interested in pursuing it (the donation)."
His version of events conflict with the Conservatives', who said earlier on Tuesday that in Osborne's five meetings with Deripaska, four of which occurred during his holiday in Corfu, neither Osborne nor Feldman solicited donations.
The party says Rothschild suggested in Osborne's presence that Deripaska could be interested in making a donation, but following a telephone conversation on September 18 between Feldman and Rothschild, the party decided it would "not be appropriate" to accept one.
Lord Peter Mandelson, the former EU trade commissioner who was brought back into Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet as business secretary last month, is also facing questions about his links to Deripaska.
Amid press allegations of a possible conflict of interest with his EU job, which Mandelson has described as "100 percent false", the Tories are urging him to clarify the situation. - AFP