Evans, 82, was suspended for five months after a Guardian investigation revealed he offered to introduce undercover reporters to fellow parliamentarians in exchange for cash, a “cash-for-access” scheme. He has also lost the Labour whip.
Separately, Evans and fellow directors of Jusan Technologies Ltd. are being sued by former executive Yerbol Orynbayev, claiming they “personally enriched themselves” in a 2023 asset sale to a Kazakh oligarch at a fraction of the assets’ value. Court documents allege Evans received a $1m bonus, a $250,000 annual salary, and additional payments worth hundreds of thousands.
Evans and the directors reject the claims, describing them as “meritless” and asserting Orynbayev acted hypocritically after previously supporting the deal. The legal disputes are ongoing in both the UK and the US.
Evans, ennobled in 1998 by Tony Blair, has rarely spoken in the Lords over the past 15 years but remains prominent due to his commercial and parliamentary involvement. The outcomes of the lawsuits could have implications for both his financial and political standing.
