Board upheaval at Sir Richard Branson's Hyperloop One as director arrested in Russia

Sir Richard with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman in United States 
Sir Richard with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Credit: Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Kingdom Council

Sir Richard Branson’s ambitious plans for 700mph “hyperloop” trains that transport passengers between cities in minutes are facing further upheaval after three members of his company’s board left and a fourth was arrested in Russia.

The British billionaire invested in the Los Angeles start-up Hyperloop One last year and renamed it Virgin Hyperloop One, taking control of the company’s board after its previous chairman left last year under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations.

It has now emerged that three heavyweight directors left the board in a shake-up at the end of last year. Jim Messina, a former adviser to Barack Obama, Jim Rosenthal, a former Morgan Stanley executive, and Peter Diamandis,...

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