Russian lawyer offered prosecutor free membership to luxury concierge service run by Tory co-chair Ben Elliot, leaked emails suggest

Russian lawyer Andrei Pavlov, now sanctioned for his role in the Magnitsky case, said Quintessentially could "organize a dinner with Tony Blair," among other services.

• Russian lawyer Andrei Pavlov offered Kazakh prosecutor Andrei Kravchenko free membership to Quintessentially.
• The concierge service, founded by Conservative party co-chair Ben Elliot, could "organize a dinner with Tony Blair", Pavlov claimed in 2014.
• There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Quintessentially, Elliot, or Blair.

A Russian lawyer offered free membership to a luxury personal concierge service founded by Conservative Party co-chairman Ben Elliot to a top Kazakh official, leaked documents seen by Insider suggest. 

Andrei Pavlov, who was sanctioned for his involvement in the infamous $230 million criminal conspiracy that Sergei Magnitsky was investigating before he died after being refused medical assistance in Russian police custody, told Andrei Kravchenko that he had arranged one-year access to Quintessentially.

Quintessentially has increasingly been in the spotlight as a result of Elliot's role as a fundraiser for the prime minister and as a Conservative party official. However, his position is a cause of growing unease among Conservative MPs, who fear his "contaminating" Russian links. 

Pavlov told Kravchenko, the then-deputy prosecutor general of Kazakhstan, that clients received the benefit of "personal connections" including being able to "organize a dinner with Tony Blair, or get an invitation to the Oscars".

In a 2014 email to the prosecutor, seen by Insider, Pavlov said: "This service is paid, but taking into account our agreement with them, we agreed that a year of membership in Quintessentially will be free for you."

Kravchenko would receive a higher tier of membership, Pavlov added, in which "the client is allocated one personal manager who provides a more 'personal' service, as he eventually learns the details of the client's life, his needs, etc".

The top-level "Quintessence" service costs £25,000 a year, although Pavlov's membership cost £3,000, according to the documents. 

'Involved in serious corruption'

It is not clear if Kravchenko ever accepted the offer, however in the same email chain he asks for clarification as to "how you negotiated my membership" as well as how much it will cost himself and Pavlov. "I don't want to sound stingy on this issue," he added. "I certainly have the ability to pay for certain things I need — but I need to understand what I'm signing up for."

This is just one of a series of Pavlov's emails, which were leaked and posted online, following what he described at the time as a hacking attack. 

The leak led to a flurry of news coverage, including reports that Pavlov had hired Lynton Crosby's lobbying and elections firm CTF to identify targets in the European Parliament who could be persuaded to prevent him being sanctioned by the EU, as reported by BuzzFeed News. CTF said at the time the project was a piece of background research and unrelated to lobbying.

Last September, the Mirror reported on Pavlov's use of Quintessentially.

In 2018, Ulukbek Maksatbekuulu, the senior assistant to Kazakhstan's attorney general for special assignments, was convicted for receiving bribes "in the form of property benefits on a large scale", from Pavlov four years earlier. He received an eight-year sentence; Pavlov was released by Kazakh authorities without indictment.

Pavlov was sanctioned in the UK in 2021 for his role in the Magnitsky case, in the first wave of designations after the Magnitsky Act was passed, having previously been sanctioned in the US in 2017.

A UK government document explaining the sanctions described Pavlov as part of "an organised criminal group [that] was involved in serious corruption," alleging that he helped the group make fraudulent claims for damages.

Charles and Diana's hairdresser

Pavlov told Kravchenko he used the service "constantly", although his email says he doesn't know the senior management "well".

The emails seen by Insider suggest Pavlov was using Quintessentially services after he was added to the European Parliament's 'Magnitsky List'.

The lawyer spent four-figure sums on English lessons, hotel trips, and luxury car hire, a series of other documents seen by Insider suggest.

They also suggest he spent nearly £3,000 at Quintessentially's education division, helping his son with his application for the private Brockhurst prep school.

Pavlov used the concierge service for more prosaic reasons, including finding his wife an Hermes bag and having a Kindle sent to his hotel in Los Angeles via Amazon, the documents suggest. He also used Quintessentially to source a hairdresser for his wife "someone who cut Diana and Charles — cost £300".

Bill Browder, the US businessman who campaigned for the Magnitsky Act, told Insider he found it "shocking that a British firm would be assisting a Russian organised crime figure, enabling him to upgrade his lifestyle."

Quintessentially membership was "considered to be a high-value gift" among elite Russian circles, Browder added. "It's like a black American Express card — even better." 

David Bick, chairman of Quintessentially, told Insider his firm had not been involved in discussions with Pavlov about free membership for Kravchenko, and that no one had agreed to waive the fee. 

He declined to comment on specific members, but added: "Quintessentially complies with the US, EU, and UK sanctions lists and there are currently none of its members on these lists. If a member does appear on such lists, they will cease to be a member of Quintessentially immediately."

Asked if Pavlov had ever been a member during the period in which he was sanctioned, Bick said: "Categorically, no."

A spokesperson for Tony Blair said: "Mr Blair has never heard of Quintessentially, let alone attended dinners arranged by them. He does not know Andrei Pavlov and has no recollection of ever meeting him, neither do we have a record of any such meeting taking place. If, as you claim, he is offering to organise a dinner with Mr Blair, he is doing it without his knowledge or permission."

Insider contacted Pavlov and Kravchenko but did not receive a response by the time of publication. CCHQ declined to comment.

'Nearly 15 years' experience providing luxury lifestyle management services to Russia's elite'

Until recently Quintessentially's Russia division boasted that it had "nearly 15 years' experience providing luxury lifestyle management services to Russia's elite and corporate members", employing more than 50 managers out of Moscow. 

In a 2013 interview, Quintessentially Russia president Irina Volskaya told a local website that the firm's corporate slogan was "access to the inaccessible" and that the firm was engaged in "everything that does not contradict the law".

Bick said: "Quintessentially had a franchise office in Moscow and the license for this franchise has been suspended following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia."

He added: "The clients who were receiving Quintessentially services out of the Moscow franchise are no longer receiving services from Quintessentially."