UK NHS Hospital Fighting Covid-19 gets Russian Banker’s Gift of a Million Pounds

A RUSSIAN banker who fled from his country to live in Britain in 2011, after he faced fraud charges, has donated a million pounds to an NHS hospital in Reading to help it during the coronavirus crisis.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital announced that Andrey Borodin had made an “overwhelmingly kind and generous donation” to support its staff.

The hospital said the cash would be used to create a facility for staff to rest and access well-being services.

Borodin was granted political asylum in 2013, and shelled out £140m for Park Place Estate, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, within months of arriving in the country.

In a statement, the couple, whose children attended school in Berkshire, said they hoped the money would “contribute in a way which helps and supports” staff “now and in to the future.”

“We sincerely thank the brave and selfless NHS workers for their hard work and commitment.

“We understand that there are thousands of NHS workers in our local community who go above and beyond in their patient care, and at this time more than ever,” they said.

Steve McManus, chief executive of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is an incredible donation at a very challenging time, and we are extremely grateful to Andrey and Tatiana for their generosity and thoughtfulness.”

Borodin was being sought by Russia over a 2010 criminal case, and he said the investigation was “not independent, objective, open-minded or fair” and he “knew that I would not receive a fair trial.

“I will continue to vigorously defend all actions against me in front of courts where I am confident of a fair and impartial hearing,” he added at the time.

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Alex Trelinski

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