If you thought Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were owned by the RAF, think again.
The RAF squadron targeted for a repaint by Palestine Action due to its involvement in supplying Israel’s genocide, does not in fact belong to the RAF at all. It belongs ultimately to Polygon Global Partners LLP, a hedge fund.
Airtanker Ltd. — Direct Owner
Through a chain of seven cutout companies, which I will take you through, the direct ownership is with Airtanker Ltd., which gives its address as RAF Brize Norton.
It owns, maintains and operates the RAF’s Voyager refuelling aircraft, which have been providing mid-air refuelling to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) as well as carrying, in their cargo role, munitions to the IDF.
Note that Airtanker Ltd. states that five of the Voyager aircraft while available to the RAF: “can also be made available to other parties. This can include providing military capability to other nations…”.
Whether the aircraft have been operated by the RAF on behalf of the Israelis, or whether they have been “provided to” the IDF directly, is an interesting question. Is this designed to build in plausible deniability for the U.K. government?
Eight of the Voyager Aircraft though fully painted in RAF livery, actually are the property of Airtanker Ltd.
It is not plain whether the other six — also the property of Airtanker Ltd. but only occasionally used by the RAF — are also in RAF livery. The company does not show any photographs of jets not in RAF livery.
Airtanker Holdings — Majority Control of Airtanker Ltd
So who owns Airtanker Ltd? Well, the “person with significant control” on the Companies House register is Airtanker Holdings Ltd. They own over 75 percent but less than 100 percent. It would be interesting to know who owns the rest.
Airbus & Equitix Capital Eurobond — Significant Shares
So who owns Airtanker Holdings Ltd? Well, it is owned — more than 25 percent and less than 50 percent – by Airbus, which provides the actual aircraft, and more than 25 percent and less than 50 percent by Equitix Capital Eurobond 6 Ltd., which presumably provides finance. As both own under 50 percent it would be interesting to know who owns the rest, and why.
Equitix Holdings Ltd Owns Equitix Capital Eurobond
So who owns Equitix Capital Eurobond 6 Ltd? Well, Equitix Capital Eurobond 6 Ltd. is owned by Equitix Holdings Ltd., a company at the same address in the City of London.
Pace Bidco Ltd Owns Equitix Holdings Ltd
So who owns Equitix Holdings Ltd? Well, Equitix Holdings Ltd is owned by Pace Bidco Ltd, a company curiously enough also at the same address.
Pace Topco Ltd Owns Pace Bidco Ltd
So who owns Pace Bidco Ltd? Well, Pace Bidco Ltd is owned by Pace Topco Ltd, a company which turns out to be also at the same address!
Reade Griffith Owns Pace Topco Ltd
So who owns Pace Topco Ltd? Well, here, we finally get the name of a human being. It is a Mr. Reade Griffith whose address is given as Polygon Global Partners LLP, 4 Sloane St, London.
On another page of the register a Mr. Reade Eugene Griffith is given as a director of Pace Topco Ltd, presumably the same person. This would also appear to be the same individual as the E. Griffith Reade who is listed as — amongst other interests — the 10 percent owner of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.
Unknown Investors
Polygon is a hedge fund. It would appear likely from the register to be either Polygon or Griffith’s umbrella hedge fund Tetragon that owns these liveried RAF aircraft. We have therefore simply no idea who the investors are. The true ownership is deliberately shrouded in secrecy.
This spaghetti tangle of ownership of RAF aircraft is rather surprising to those of us who naively believed that RAF military aircraft belonged to the RAF, and that the hundreds of billions of pounds the state lavishes on “defence” was used to do things like buy military jets, rather than make rich financiers still richer.
No U.K. politician has ever proposed to increase defence spending by more than Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who wants to lift it by £120 billion a year.
The RAF’s Voyager aircraft are effectively being provided under the Private Finance Initiative. Exactly how much money the hedge fund managers and this string of companies are taking out of the defence budget is hard to know.
One particularly surprising fact is that it is plain that the private companies are also providing the RAF ground crew. Who employs the flight crews is not entirely clear.
Some British military personnel are in fact contracted mercenaries. It gives new context to the active RAF involvement in the genocide in Gaza.
Source: Consortium News.
