Raimondo Receives $60k in Donations from McKinsey - Husband’s Firm Tied to Saudis Targeted Critics
Monday, October 22, 2018
Governor Gina Raimondo’s husband Andrew Moffit is a Senior Solution Leader at McKinsey & Company. Moffit’s firm created a report that identified Saudi dissidents that were influential and a potential threat to the absolute monarchy.
Business Insider reported on Sunday, “Several dissidents were targeted by the Saudi government after a report from the American consultancy firm McKinsey & Company identified them as having a heavy influence over social-media criticisms of Saudi austerity measures, according to The New York Times.”
Raimondo has accepted more than 90 campaign donations from McKinsey partners and executives totaling $59,650.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSEE THE LIST OF MORE THAN 90 MCKINSEY DONATIONS TO RAIMONDO -- BELOW
McKinsey denies that the report was intended to target dissidents, “We are horrified by the possibility, however remote, that it could have been misused in any way,” the statement said. “At this point, we have seen no evidence to suggest that it was misused, but we are urgently investigating how and with whom the document was shared.”
The McKinsey report, obtained by the New York Times, identified that three people dissidents were particularly influential on Twitter.
Those identified were Khalid al-Alkami, a writer; Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi critic who lives in Canada; and an anonymous user identified as Ahmad.
Following McKinsey's report, Alkami was reportedly arrested; two of Abdulaziz's brothers were arrested, and the government hacked Abdulaziz's phone; and the Ahmad account was shuttered.
Moffit’s firm late on Saturday issued a statement in response to the reports -- SEE BELOW.
Raimondo’s campaign refused to comment on Moffit's involvement. An email to Moffit was not returned. The questions to Moffit asked if he or his division worked on the report unveiled by the New York Times or if he did any consulting work for the Saudis.
A 2016 report by Brookings identifies McKinsey as a leading influencer of the Saudi government.
“It may come as a surprise to many Saudis that the origin of this reshuffle [restructuring of assignments in the Saudi ministries]—and indeed the Kingdom’s new economic direction—finds its impetus in a report by the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company,” according to an article titled, “Saudi Arabia’s McKinsey Reshuffle” by Adel Abdel Ghafar. The report was conducted by McKinsey’s research division which is owned by the consulting entity.
“Indeed, Bloomberg news reported that consultancies are set to earn 12 percent more in commissions in Saudi Arabia this year, the fastest growth amongst the world’s advisory markets. In a wide-ranging interview with The Economist in January, Prince Mohammed himself said that “McKinsey participates with us in many studies.” According to the Financial Times, Saudi businessmen have sarcastically dubbed the Ministry of Planning as the “McKinsey Ministry.”
McKinsey features on its homepage, "80 percent of our work is outside of strategy." The company operates from 60 offices across the globe and reports to have 27,000 employees.
The McKinsey report on influencers in Saudi Arabia comes in wake of the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi government acknowledged Friday that he was killed by government agents in a consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi had frequently criticized the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his columns.
McKinsey Controversies
Bloomberg reported Sunday, "This isn’t the first time McKinsey has dealt with ethical fallout from government-related consulting work. In July, the consultancy apologized to South Africa over how business was handled with the state-owned power company Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. The firm admitted to overcharging the utility and said it had been slow to admit wrongdoing.”
“McKinsey reached a settlement in July to repay almost 1 billion rand ($74 million) in fees to Eskom. It said it had failed to follow its own procedures when it worked alongside Trillian Capital Partners Pty Ltd., a business linked to the Gupta family, which had close ties to former President Jacob Zuma," reported Bloomberg.
Puerto Rico Double Dipping
According to the New York Times, "McKinsey & Company is advising the Puerto Rican government on a financial overhaul to lighten its crippling debts — a process that will determine how much money the bankrupt territory’s creditors recoup on their investments.
The giant consulting firm has millions of dollars riding on the outcome. The reason: McKinsey owns bonds issued by Puerto Rico.
That creates a potential conflict of interest between McKinsey’s client, which wants to save as much money as possible, and McKinsey itself, which wants to make as much money as possible on the bonds."
McKinsey Donations to Raimondo
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Sidney McCleary McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 50.00 Sidney McCleary McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Byron Auguste McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Elizabeth Lempres McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 200.00 Lynn Taliento McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 John Welch McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Elizabeth Hilton McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Robert Sternfels McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Elizabeth Hilton Segel McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Kausik Rajgopal McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Elizabeth Hilton Segel McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Jonathan Gordan McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Susan Colby McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Leo Grepin McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 Cabe Franklin McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Christian Mariager McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 John Welch McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Ronald Piervincenzi McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Leo Grepin McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 50.00 Tanguy Catlin McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 400.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Elizabeth Hilton Segel McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Elizabeth Lempres McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Lynn Taliento McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Vivian Riefberg McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Robert Sternfels McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 350.00 Sidney McCleary McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Kausik Rajgopal McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 William Huyett McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Laura Maestas McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 James Sarakatsannis McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Gary Pinkus McKinsey & Company, Inc.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Kevin McLellan McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Kausik Rajgopal McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 25.00 Laura Sztejnberg McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 25.00 Sidney McCleary McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Paul Kihn McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 50.00 Michele Zanini McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 200.00 Alexander Panas McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 William Huyett McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Elizabeth Hilton Segel McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Timothy Ryan McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Kevin McLellan McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Claudia Joyce McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 David Schoeman McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 125.00 Rebecca Taber McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 50.00 Cabe Franklin McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 Russell Richmond McKinsey and Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Robert Sternfels McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 John Welch McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 125.00 Laura Sztejnberg McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lowell Bryan McKinsey & Co
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 50.00 Leigh Weiss McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Liz Hilton Spegel McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Mary O'Flanagan McKinsey & Co
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Eliza Lehner McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 Kimberly Packard McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 Lee Kempler McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Kausik Rajgopal McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 500.00 Marc Singer McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Alexander Massry McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 John Welch McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Kevin McLellan McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Laura Furstenthal McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Alexander Edlich McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Vivian Riefberg McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Robert Schiff McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Andrew Moffit McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Robert Sternfels McKinsey & Company
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 1,000.00 Lenny Mendonca McKinsey
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 250.00 Laura Maestas McKinsey & Co.
GINA M. RAIMONDO $ 100.00 WanLae Cheng McKinsey
GINA PAC (FRMLY HOPE NOW PAC) $ 1,000.00 David Fubini McKinsey & Company
This story was first published at 10/21/18 4:20 PM under the headline "Raimondo’s Husband’s Firm McKinsey Tied to Saudi Government Targeting Critics." This story was updated at 11:56 PM on October 21, 2018. This story was updated at 4:24 AM on October 22, 2018.