The air is getting thinner for Prince Andrew… After his abuse trial, he is now involved in a fraud case – it’s about several million euros. And Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice also play a role.
Was Prince Andrew, 62, hoping to regain at least a little public favor after his surprise appearance at the memorial service for his late father? Well, that hope may have been nipped in the bud.
Prince Andrew is involved in a fraud case
A few days after the ceremony in Westminster Abbey, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth’s favorite son, 95, was once again involved in a scandal. It’s about a complicated fraud case, several million euros, a Turkish millionaire and a suspected fraudster.
In a High Court case, Turkish millionaire Nebahat Evyap Isbilen alleges she entrusted £67million to her financial advisor Selman Turk to keep the money out of the reach of her political enemies. But her intermediary did the opposite, cheated her and embezzled most of her wealth.
These included payments to Prince Andrew of more than £1million (around €1.1million), as well as to his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 62, of £225,000 (around €260,000) and his daughter Princess Eugenie, 32, in the amount of £25,000 (about 29,900 euros), reports The Telegraph.
Payments to Queen Elizabeth’s son included a transfer of £750,000 in November 2019, days after Turk won an award in Prince Andrew’s Shark Tank-Style competition for entrepreneurs, sources say in the complaint. Isbilen says she believed the payment was for the prince’s support in helping Turk obtain a new passport to escape political persecution from Turkey.
However, Turk and Prince Andrew’s office are said to have later told their bank advisors that the sum was a “wedding gift” for Princess Beatrice, 33, who married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 38, in July 2020.
Princess Eugenie speaks up
According to The Telegraph, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are said to have had no knowledge of their parents’ dealings with Turk, nor knowingly corresponded with him.
Princess Eugenie now speaks personally to the US magazine “People” about her father’s ongoing legal dispute. “On March 31, 2022 I received a letter from the law firm Peters & Peters representing their client Nebahat Evyap Isbilen in her lawsuit against a Mr. Selman Turk and various companies. I do not know Ms. Isbilen or Mr. Turk (nor any other details of the lawsuit) and was surprised to receive this letter asking me to account for two payments made to my bank account in October 2019 which I understood to be gifts from a long-time family friend to help pay for a surprise party at the 60th birthday of my mother Sarah, Duchess of York,” said Eugenie.
The 32-year-old continues: “In early October 2019, I received a call from our family friend to let me know that he wanted to make a financial contribution to my mother’s birthday party to help cover catering costs. I suggested that the contribution be paid direct to the caterer but sent my account details which received two payments totaling £25 000 which I then forwarded to the company that organized my mum’s party.I am now consulting my solicitors who I asked Peters & Peters to respond on my behalf to assist them in their investigation.”
Sarah Ferguson said through a spokesman: “The Duchess has been totally unaware of the allegations that have since surfaced against Mr Turk. She is obviously concerned about what he is being accused of.”
It is still unclear what role Prince Andrew will play in the ongoing proceedings in the future. What is certain, however, is that he repaid the £750,000 immediately after the lawsuit became known. The 62-year-old has not yet commented on the case.
Sources used: people.com, telegraph.co.uk