The Magnate was a shadowy organisation secretly manipulating Earth governments.
Set up by the Cylox Tko-Ma through Sebastian Malvern, its true purpose was to find Lai-Ma, Tko-Ma's brother. They did this by recruiting ESPnets to psychically search for him. When the Cylox were destroyed, the organisation disbanded and the ESPnets became independent agents. (PROSE: Instruments of Darkness)