Tony Blair’s Consultancy Ties to Controversial Covid-19 Test Supplier and Billionaire Charles Huang

Tony Blair is a remunerated consultant in political and business affairs for a contentious investment firm that profited immensely from UK taxpayers by providing Covid-19 testing kits, Democracy for Sale can confirm.

The former prime minister collaborates with Pasaca, the parent company of Innova Medical Group, which secured pandemic-related contracts worth more than £4 billion from the UK government for delivering lateral flow tests.

Innova has faced scrutiny over its cost-effectiveness for British taxpayers. The company’s founder, Charles Huang, a Chinese-American entrepreneur, has been accused of using profits from Covid contracts to purchase extravagant items, including private jets and lavish properties.

A representative for Blair clarified that he began working with Huang in 2022 and had no connection to Pasaca’s Covid testing contracts, nor any involvement with the UK government concerning such matters.

“Mr. Blair’s role has been to provide counsel on geopolitical concerns and, more recently, on a tech company derived from research at Strathclyde University. At no point did Mr. Huang request Mr. Blair to lobby or approach the UK government regarding Covid testing,” the spokeswoman said.

Huang reported that Innova earned around $2 billion (£1.6 billion) in profit from its UK Covid contracts, which is considered one of the highest sums achieved by a single pandemic supplier.

In legal documents filed in California this July, obtained by Democracy for Sale, two of Huang’s former business associates accuse him of misusing Pasaca’s resources and carrying out fraudulent money transfers.

Huang is alleged to have diverted millions from Covid contract profits to fund personal luxuries like a private jet, houses for his family and mistresses, and to move $200 million into offshore accounts in case he needed to escape the United States. A proposed biography about Huang was titled “Overnight Billionaire.”

A representative for Huang firmly rejected these claims, stating, “These baseless accusations come from discontented former employees who have greatly profited from the company’s generosity but are now distorting the truth for their own gain.”

The court filings also allege that a £50m donation Huang made to Strathclyde University in Glasgow in 2021 was invested in entrepreneurial ventures supposedly under Huang’s partial control. His former partners claim these charitable contributions are a front to cover illegitimate offshore transfers.

Both Huang and Strathclyde University have denied these allegations.

“Dr. Huang has no control over how this donation is utilized, and his foundation collaborates with the university to allocate it for research, student scholarships, and entrepreneurial projects within the Strathclyde community,” a Strathclyde University representative stated.

“The Charles Huang Foundation’s donation allows the University to further its collaborative efforts with businesses, industry, and the public sector to tackle pressing global challenges,” the spokesperson added.

As previously highlighted by The Guardian, Huang is also involved in legal disputes with former business partners who have accused him of being a “high-level con artist” who misappropriated over $1bn in assets derived from UK sales for personal gain.

Huang was a relatively unknown businessman before his fortunes took off when Innova was fast-tracked as a supplier after its UK associates – now embroiled in legal battles with Innova – emailed Dominic Cummings, adviser to then-prime minister Boris Johnson, in July 2020.

For four months during the pandemic, Innova was the exclusive supplier of rapid Covid tests, leading the National Audit Office to express concerns about the potential lack of value for money. Innova defended its contracts, asserting that it had succeeded in a highly competitive bidding process and that its tests were cost-efficient and delivered on time.

Huang, in civil lawsuits, has claimed that two former Innova executives defrauded the company of over $100 million, a charge they deny.

Blair, who has also offered advice to Keir Starmer as Labour transitions from opposition to government, has faced backlash for his consultancy work with controversial figures and regimes.

His clientele has included authoritarian regimes such as those in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) has also provided guidance to Saudi Arabia on social and economic reforms, continuing its relationship even after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and Science Secretary Peter Kyle all participated in TBI events during this week’s Labour conference.

Blair’s institute has stated that thorough due diligence was conducted on Huang. Blair maintains a strict policy of not lobbying the government on behalf of any client or company.

Jo Maugham, founder of the Good Law Project, remarked, “There are significant concerns over how this small company, now mired in numerous fraud and misconduct accusations, managed to secure over £4 billion in public contracts. The fact that Tony Blair has chosen to advise Innova’s founder raises additional questions about his judgment.”

Labour peer and accountant Baron Prem Sikka commented, “Blair’s association with Pasaca is yet another chapter in the ongoing story of political figures, both current and former, making themselves available for hire.”

He added, “Tony Blair’s network and capacity for consultancy work were built entirely through public funding during his time as a Member of Parliament and Prime Minister.”