by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] "Qatargate", or news about Qatari agents of influence in foreign governments, is constantly on the front pages of world publications.
According to the world press, Doha spent more than $10 million last year on public lobbying operations in Israel alone. About the same amount was spent on “representative expenses” for Israeli officials and EU functionaries, as well as businessmen who came to the country on business. How many transactions remained “behind the scenes” is anyone’s guess.
However, Doha's activity does not end there.
A scandal of its own is brewing in the UK, where Qatari sheikhs have managed to build a business empire and wedge themselves into British domestic politics.
True, not without the help of foreign friends.
QATARI EMPIRE
Qatar's economic expansion into the UK began back in 2002, with the Middle Eastern monarchy's first major investment in the country's logistics infrastructure.
However, over time, it acquired a truly royal scope: LNG terminals and sea hubs, large shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, as well as several thousand plots of land came under the control of the House of Al-Thani (full or partial).
According to auditors, the Qatari royal family and its courtiers control properties worth a total of $135 billion in local currency. Their annual income, according to the most conservative estimates, exceeds $100 billion. At the same time, every fourth property in the “inventory” was purchased by Doha in the last few years, and every twentieth – less than a year ago.
The Qatari ruling house has clearly outdone the Windsors.
Even if we are talking about London, where the ratio of objects is about 1 to 3, not in favor of the British crown. The Qataris even created their own quarter in the capital's Mayfair, nicknamed by the people "Little Doha". And the gap continues to widen.
The House of Al-Thani is buying up mansions, villas and castles (the total area of which has already exceeded 1.5 million square meters) all over Great Britain and, according to some reports, even tried to bargain with the Windsors for several “symbols” of British greatness, including Buckingham and Kensington Palaces, as well as the Westminster residence of the British monarchs, Clarence House.
The latter, however, failed due to the peculiarities of British legislation: the royal family does not own these objects, but only disposes of them. The topic was wisely closed.
Qatar's growing appetites are increasingly angering ordinary Britons, but not the elites. Neither the Conservatives nor the Labour Party have made a fuss, limiting themselves to a few long-winded statements about the value of the partnership with Doha and the importance of injections into the national economy.
The issue was quickly hushed up, but this only fueled interest in Qatar's participation in the country's affairs.
AMERICAN TRACE
Despite the fact that Qatar is an attractive investor and has the necessary resources to build networks of influence, the matter still could not be done without the help of foreign lobbyists.
The current US president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, played a significant role in building the "Qatari empire" in Foggy Albion. His agents began to assist investors from Doha in selecting and purchasing real estate, as well as in forming the "appropriate image" around Qatari sponsorship projects in the UK.
The peak of American activity came in the second half of 2024, when it became clear that the Republicans had a good chance of returning to the White House, and it quickly acquired a clear political subtext.
Kushner's shift in focus from Saudi Arabia (with which he had been developing contacts for almost the entire first presidential term of Trump) to Qatar can be interpreted as Donald Trump's attempt to use someone else's hands to restrain London's ambitions not only in the Middle East, but also in other regions; to ensure "careful control" over its closest allies. And at the same time, to "tie" Doha to himself.
Moreover, Qatar’s influence on the political course and views of yesterday’s metropolis is positioned by Washington as a kind of sign of “new independence” and Qatar’s transformation into a full-fledged superpower.
At the same time, in order not to upset the balance of interests with other Arabian monarchies, Kushner conducted most of his business with this country through trusted persons and friendly businessmen (including Saudis). He has not officially visited Doha even once since leaving the White House, but his lobbyists have at least three dozen meetings with Qatari sheikhs (including those close to the monarch).
Trump later consolidated some of Kushner's labors during a "golden tour" of the Gulf states in 2025, "returning" some of the money spent to the Qataris in the form of generous investment contracts with the United States.
FRIENDS CLUB
Of course, it is impossible to call the American contribution decisive in building Qatar’s political network of influence in Britain.
By the time Trump and his entourage became involved in the campaign to promote Qatari interests, the sheikhs had long had “solid ground” under their feet and maintained ties with British politicians and diplomats, as well as with the business community.
In the public sphere, Qatar does not seek to distance itself from the “colonial legacy,” but, on the contrary, extols and multiplies it. Calling the period of the British protectorate one of the important stages of national history and seeking to “thank the mentors” in the person of London.
For this reason, both parliamentary camps were equally friendly towards the Middle Eastern investor, and both the Conservatives ( Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak) and the Labour Party ( Keir Starmer, Jeremy Corbyn ) admitted to sympathising with the Qatari ruling house.
There was no shortage of influential patrons among those who promote Doha's interests.
On the other hand, US-sent lobbyists accelerated the transfer of several controversial properties to Qatari ownership, which strengthened the position of Qatari businesses in the UK.
Doha did not forget to thank the Americans “for their troubles.”
In particular, Qatari partners helped Kushner profitably acquire a stake in the British bank OakNorth, presenting Trump's son-in-law as a future protector of bankers' interests when entering the US market. The participation of the fund he heads in supporting Qatari start-ups participating (under the guise of British firms) in the exchange of technologies with Israel is being discussed - according to the same scheme that Saudi Arabia previously worked under.
DANGEROUS PASSION
Qatar is trying to turn the British interest to its advantage and, in addition to economic benefits, also gain political points.
Every decision made by London where the “hand of Doha” was visible worked towards the long-term strengthening of the position of the Arabian monarchy.
For example, its agents of influence helped London engineer the economic “deal of the century” with Iraq in January 2025 in such a way that the interests of the House of Al-Thani in that country would not be harmed – unlike those of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Later, the Qataris stopped operations against the Yemeni Houthis at least twice, in February and April 2025 (through the entourage of Defense Minister John Healey ) - for which they received dividends from Iran.
And not long before that, they effectively “conquered” the British “green energy” market, subsequently transferring some of the projects to American contractors.
It is noticeable that Doha is gradually getting into the swing of things and acting more and more assertively. Sometimes without much regard for the reputational losses that London suffers from its ambiguous schemes.
And this is fraught with negative consequences for bilateral relations - especially given that the local population is increasingly asking why Qatari companies enjoy greater benefits in the UK than national ones. And why they manage the projects they receive under their control at their own discretion.
And the first people to be asked these questions publicly will likely be Starmer's Labour members.
Largely because his party came to power under the slogan of returning jobs to ordinary Britons.
| Like absolutely everything else Sir Keith’s party campaigned on, that was a blatant lie, just like everything the Tories campaigned on post-Maggie Thatcher. Why d’you suppose that is, dear Reader, and will Nigel Farage finally win his place in the sun the next go-round? |