PRINCE Andrew is embroiled in an extraordinary case at the High Court as he claims he was given £1million by an alleged con man accused of defrauding a Turkish millionaire out of her £40million fortune.
The Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson received ‘suspicious’ payments on the orders of Selman Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker, in a £40million international fraud, according to the allegations.
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Court documents say the payments included a £750,000 ‘gift’ to Andy from Nebahat Isbilen.
The 76-year-old was reportedly told the sum would pay for help with a passport so she could flee political persecution in Turkey.
The Duke was first paid days after presenting Mr Turk with an award at St James’s Palace, the daily telegraph reports.
He was paying tribute to Mr Turk as part of his controversial Dragons Den style contest, known as [email protected]
Another payment of £350,000, linked to Mr Turk, was allegedly paid to Prince Andrew via a third party account. This account also paid £225,000 to his ex-wife, it is claimed.
The Duke repaid the £750,000 but declined to comment when approached by the newspaper.
There is no indication that he participated in the alleged fraud.
A spokesperson for the Duchess of York said: ‘The Duchess was completely unaware of the allegations that have since emerged against Mr Turk.
“She is understandably concerned about what is being charged against her.”
Mr Turk denies the allegations.
David Halpern QC, sitting as Deputy High Court Judge, authorized a search of Mr Turk’s premises earlier this month, saying there was ‘strong prima facie evidence’ for ‘fraud major”. ‘Prima facie’ means ‘based on a first impression’.
Court documents claim Jonathan Tickner, who works for the firm representing Ms Isbilen, wrote to Prince Andrew in March last year.
The royal ‘refused’ to answer questions or report on his relationship with Mr Turk, it is claimed.
News of the case comes after Andrew paid sex accuser Virginia Giuffre a multi-million pound settlement to drop a civil case against him.
The Duke denies all allegations of misconduct made against him.
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