London: Lord Jo Johnson, younger brother of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, has resigned his non-executive directorship of a UK-based investment firm linked with the now-withdrawn Adani Enterprises Follow-on Public Offer (FPO).
‘The Financial Times’ newspaper referenced UK Companies House records to reveal that 51-year-old Lord Johnson had been appointed as a director of London-based Elara Capital Plc in June last year and resigned on Wednesday, the day when the Adani Group announced the withdrawal of the FPO.
Elara, which described itself as a capital markets business raising funds for Indian corporates, was among the bookrunners on the FPO. Mr Johnson insisted he has been assured of the company’s “good standing” and has stepped down due to his own lack of “domain expertise”.
“I joined the board of Elara Capital, an India-focused investment firm based in London, as an independent non-executive director last June in the hope of making a contribution to UK-India trade and investment ties, which I have long supported and co-written a book about,” Jo Johnson said in a statement after news of his resignation was announced by the newspaper.
“I have consistently received assurances from Elara Capital that it is compliant with its legal obligations and in good standing with regulatory bodies. At the same time, I now recognise that this is a role that requires greater domain expertise in specialised areas of financial regulation than I anticipated and, accordingly, I have resigned from the board,” said Mr Johnson, a House of Lords peer.
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