Suspended peer alleged to have received at least $1m from 'corrupt' deal

A peer suspended by the House of Lords for breaking lobbying rules is now facing claims that he received at least $1m (£760,000) from an allegedly corrupt deal.

- Henry Dyer Rob Evans

Lord Evans of Watford, a longtime Labour peer, was found last week by the House of Lords watchdog to have broken its rules four times after undercover reporting by the Guardian, and will be suspended for five months.

The peer was caught in a cash-for-access venture offering to introduce undercover reporters to fellow parliamentarians.

Now it can be revealed that he is separately facing legal action over payments he and others received as directors of a UK investment firm that managed assets based in Kazakhstan.

Court documents show that Evans and the other directors have been accused by a former executive of “personally enriching themselves” by pocketing millions in alleged illicit payments. Evans and the other directors deny the allegations, which they said were part of “meritless” lawsuits. They are accused of receiving the payments as part of a deal in which they sold the assets of the investment firm for a fraction of their value.

Court papers allege David Evans received a $1m bonus specifically for approving the deal as a director, as well as an annual salary of $250,000, and other bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Evans and the directors have rejected the accusations as worthless, saying that the former executive is disgruntled and acting “hypocritically”, as he had originally supported the deal that he was now denouncing as corrupt.