Ehud Sheleg


Sir Ehud “Udi” Sheleg is a British-Israeli businessman, art dealer and political figure.

Early life

Sheleg was born in Tel Aviv. His father served with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.

Career

Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.
In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:
"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts, and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies, walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."
Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.
In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.

Personal life

Sheleg has been married twice: his first wife was English, and he married his second in 2014.