News
Philip Hammond adds cryptocurrency role to post-Treasury jobs list
Philip Hammond adds cryptocurrency role to post-Treasury jobs list
The former chancellor Philip Hammond has added another job to the dozen or so he has taken on since leaving the Treasury in 2019, this time as an adviser to a Mayfair-based cryptocurrency trading firm.
Lord Hammond, who also served as foreign secretary and was an early supporter of bitcoin and other digital currencies, joined Copper.co with immediate effect on Monday.
The former chancellor, who was said to be one of the wealthiest ever cabinet ministers with a fortune once estimated at £8.2m, has taken up as many as 14 paid and unpaid jobs since leaving politics after a bust-up with Boris Johnson over Brexit.
Hammond was last month criticised by Westminster’s lobbying watchdog for using his government connections to assist OakNorth, a bank he is paid to advise.
Eric Pickles, a former cabinet colleague who chairs the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), said it was an unwise step for Hammond to contact a senior Treasury official about a project developed by OakNorth.
Lord Pickles said Hammond’s use of his contacts in government was not consistent with the intention of the rules and was not acceptable because of “the privileged access you obtained for OakNorth”.
Hammond, who also served as defence secretary, was later cleared of breaching lobbying rules after an investigation by the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL), an independent body that monitors lobbying activities of former ministers and senior civil servants.
ORCL accepted Hammond’s argument that, since lobbying was not his main activity, there was no need for him to register as a lobbyist working on behalf of a third party.
Copper said Hammond would focus on “promoting the UK as a global leader in digital asset technology”. The firm, which was founded in 2018, recently announced plans to expand into the US and Asia and secured $75m (£55m) of investment from the British billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard and the venture capital firms Dawn Capital and Target Global.
Hammond said Copper was a “true pioneer” of crypto and digital asset investment technology. “But the really exciting opportunity lies in the application of this technology to revolutionise the way financial services are delivered,” he said. “If we can bring together the best of Britain – entrepreneurs, industry, government, and regulators – to create and enable a blockchain-based ecosystem for financial services, we will secure the UK’s global leadership in this field for decades ahead.”
Dmitry Tokarev, the chief executive of Copper, said: “We would like to drive growth in our client base within a regulatory framework which will allow us to thrive globally from our London headquarters. With Lord Hammond’s expertise adding to the strength of our team, we look forward to growing Copper and further enhancing the UK’s digital asset technology offering.”
As chancellor, Hammond had called for light-touch regulations for cryptocurrencies. “I am interested in bitcoin. The Bank of England, as you know, among the central banks, has been leading on looking at bitcoin,” he said in 2018. “What is really important is that in regulating cryptocurrencies, we don’t inadvertently constrain the potential of the technology that underlies it, the blockchain technology, which has a wider and more important application.”
News
Oyebanji appoints Justice Ogunmoye as Acting Ekiti Chief Judge
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has appointed Hon. Justice Lekan Adekanye Ogunmoye as Acting Chief Judge of the State.
This is in furtherance of the powers conferred on the Governor by Section 271 (4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The appointment of Hon Justice Ogunmoye takes effect from November 5, 2024.
He replaces the former Chief Judge, Hon Justice John Oyewole Adeyeye, who passed on November 4, 2024.
Born on November 6, 1963, Hon. Justice Ogunmoye was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987, and was appointed a judge on April 1, 2010.
Governor Oyebanji wishes the new Acting Chief Judge a successful tenure.
International
US Presidential election: Trump At 266 Votes, Harris At 195: US Media
Republican former president Donald Trump closed in on a new term in the White House early Wednesday, just needing a handful of electoral votes to defeat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
US media have thus far projected that Trump has won in more than half of the 50 US states, including three key battlegrounds Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, two of which voted Democratic in the last election.
That gives him 266 electoral votes, just shy of the 270 needed to win the presidency. Fox News has already called the race in Trump’s favor.
Harris has so far captured 195 electoral votes, including big prizes California and New York — as well as the US capital Washington.
The magic number to win the presidency is 270. Observers expect the hotly contested race for the White House to come down to a handful of key battleground states.
The following is a list of the states won by each candidate and the corresponding number of electoral votes, based on the projections of US media including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC/NBC News, ABC and CBS.
TRUMP (266) –
Alabama (9)
Arkansas (6)
Florida (30)
Georgia (16)
Idaho (4)
Indiana (11)
Iowa (6)
Kansas (6)
Kentucky (8)
Louisiana (8)
Mississippi (6)
Missouri (10)
Montana (4)
Nebraska (4 – split)
North Carolina (16)
North Dakota (3)
Ohio (17)
Oklahoma (7)
Pennsylvania (19)
South Carolina (9)
South Dakota (3)
Tennessee (11)
Texas (40)
Utah (6)
West Virginia (4)
Wyoming (3)
– HARRIS (195) –
California (54)
Colorado (10)
Connecticut (7)
Delaware (3)
District of Columbia (3)
Hawaii (4)
Illinois (19)
Maryland (10)
Massachusetts (11)
Nebraska (1 – split)
New Mexico (5)
New York (28)
Oregon (8)
Rhode Island (4)
Vermont (3)
Virginia (13)
Washington (12)
(AFP)
News
APC hails arrest of Ex-Delta Gov, Okowa by EFCC
The Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has welcomed the recent arrest of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, describing it as a step in the right direction in the fight against corruption in the country.
The APC, in a statement issued shortly after the news broke, emphasized that Okowa’s arrest signals a strong commitment by the current administration to address long-standing issues of financial mismanagement and corruption at both the state and national levels.
Okowa, who served as the Governor of Delta State from 2015 to 2023, was apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds during his tenure.
The charges reportedly relate to a series of financial dealings involving state funds and other questionable contracts awarded during his administration.
In the statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Valentine Onojeghuo Esq., and made available to newsmen in the state capital, Asaba, the Delta APC commended the Federal Government for its decisive action and urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to continue its thorough investigation into the financial activities of other past state governors and public officials.
The party emphasized that this move reflects a larger national agenda to clamp down on corruption, promote transparency, and ensure that public funds are used for the benefit of ordinary citizens rather than for personal enrichment.
“We in the APC wholeheartedly welcome the news of the arrest of the former governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who presided over one of the worst cases of financial recklessness and mismanagement on a monumental scale during his eight-year administration.
“His corrupt practices saw the diversion of humongous state funds for personal enrichment, establishing a bank, and financing his doomed presidential ambition, as well as the manipulative imposition of his puppet godson as governor against the wishes of the people of Delta State who desperately wanted change.”
The APC noted that the arrest serves as a warning to all public office holders, stressing that the era of impunity is over. “No one, regardless of their position or political affiliation, is above the law,” the statement read.
“The fight against corruption must be unwavering and thorough, and we are glad to see the administration taking bold steps in this direction.”
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