In January 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed the lobbying information website, opensecrets.org, which stated that in the 2016 election cycle KKR spent $680,000 on political lobbying and paid $2,569,102 in political contributions.
Including $991,507 to the Republician National Committee and $662,746 to Right to Rise (a PAC used by Jeb Bush for his political campaigning).
KKR (9 January 2018)
According to the organisation's website bilderbergmeetings.org, viewed by Ethical Consumer in March 2018, Petraeus, David H. (USA), Chairman, KKR Global Institute, had been a participant at the 2016 Bilderberg Meeting. The Bilderberg Group was regarded by Ethical Consumer as an international corporate lobby group which exerted undue corporate influence on policy-makers in favour of market solutions that were potentially detrimental to the environment and human rights.
www.bilderbergmeetings.org (13 March 2018)
In January 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed KKR's SEC filing 10K exhibit 21.1 which listed the company's subsidiaries. This included a substantial number of high risk subsidiaries based in jurisdictions considered by Ethical Consumer to be tax havens at the time of writing.
This included: Delaware (USA), the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Guernsey.
KKR did not publish any country-by-country financial data. The company therefore received Ethical Consumer's worst rating for likely use of tax avoidance strategies.
SEC Filing 10K exhibit 21.1 (9 January 2018)
In March 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed Cognita Schools family tree on the corporate information website and annual report up to 2017.
The annual report stated: "The immediate parent undertaking is Cognita Ltd, a company regiatered in England and Wales. The ultimate parent company (UHC) is Cognita Topco Limited, a company incorporated in Jersey."
Due to the fact it had a UHC registered in a tax haven it received Ethical Consumer's worst rating for likely use of tax avoidance strategies.
Generic Hoovers ref 2018 (2018)
In April 2018 Ethical Consumer viewed KKR's annual filing form 10-K to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the executive compensation table, the following total payments were made to executives in 2017:
Henry R Kravis $113,434,271
George R Roberts $113,711,704
Joseph Y Bae $143,906,102
Scott C Nuttall $144,351,186
William J Janetschek $10,670,281
David J Sorkin $7,404,628
Todd A Fisher $12,814,143
Ethical Consumer considered payments over £1 million to be excessive. KKR therefore lost half a mark under Anti-Social Finance.
SEC filing 10-K (2017) (11 April 2018)
