Prince Andrew (60) seems unable to get out of the negative headlines: Payments totaling around £ 355,000 received by his former private secretary Amanda Thirsk through the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust were illegal. This has now been declared by the Charity Commission, which is responsible for charities in Great Britain.
Thirsk, who resigned as Prince Roy's private secretary shortly after Prince Andrew's disastrous BBC interview regarding the Epstein scandal, also previously served as one of the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust's trustees and, according to the Financial Times, would not have been entitled to such payments . It is unclear who was responsible for the "unauthorized" transfers, but it is said that Thirsk himself was not to blame.
The problem has now been solved, the Charity Commission says, the charity has "acted quickly and efficiently". The reclaimed funds "are now being used for the intended purposes", and the intention is to continue working together. Andrew is said to have repaid £ 355,000 from his budget, according to the Daily Mail.
Exchange of blows with US authorities
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew is still the focus of investigators in the abuse scandal surrounding the late businessman Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019). After the British Royal claimed to have shown its willingness to cooperate with US investigators, New York prosecutor Geoffrey Berman refused to do so and asked Andrew to assist in the ongoing investigation. Victim lawyer Gloria Allred also increases the pressure on Prince Andrew and encourages him to "just tell the truth".
Prince Andrew hit the headlines after his friendship with the billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was exposed. Epstein is said to have abused numerous minors and forced them into prostitution. One of the victims, Virginia Giuffre, also accuses Prince Andrew of abuse. The 60-year-old, who has since resigned from public duties, denies the allegations and also defends himself against the allegations that he would not cooperate with the investigators in the United States.
Will Andrew testify?
The Duke of York had offered his support as a witness on at least three occasions this year, his team of lawyers said in a statement, including from the BBC. The US Department of Justice did not respond to his first two offers, instead prosecutor Geoffrey Berman publicly accused him in March of "zero cooperation".
Berman then said, according to the BBC, that Prince Andrew was again trying to "erroneously show himself to be willing to cooperate". The prince did not undergo any surveys by the authorities, repeatedly refused and four months ago, through his lawyers, declared that he was never available for an interview. "If Prince Andrew is really serious about working with the investigators, our doors will remain open and we will be waiting for news when we can expect him," added Berman.