Overview
- The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum lists billionaire Igor Tulchinsky as its lead sponsor, with reports that he contributed about £5 million and a portrait of him has gone on public view at the show.
- Reporting has linked Tulchinsky to funding for a ‘therapy yurt’ at a community centre in Efrat, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, though the exact nature and channel of his support remain unclear.
- Tulchinsky set up an Israel-based fund called WorldQuant Genesis in 2025 that has invested in defence-related startups and appointed a former IDF commander, facts that have heightened scrutiny of his ties to military technology.
- Green Party leader Zack Polanski has publicly urged the UK government to investigate the sponsorship, and officials have new powers after the government announced sanctions this week targeting those who finance or facilitate settlement activity.
- The British Museum and WorldQuant have offered limited public comment so far, leaving trustees’ sponsorship decisions and the museum’s use of public funding under fresh political and legal scrutiny.