Prince Andrew is facing calls to explain why he received £1m in payments linked to a financier who is now facing allegations of fraud in the high court.
In 2019, Andrew received £750,000 from Nebahat Isbilen, a Turkish millionaire and wife of a former leading politician, who has claimed in the high court that she was told by her financial adviser, Selman Turk, to pay the sum to the prince in return for assistance with a passport application.
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, have also been named in court documents for the case, in which Isbilen claims she was defrauded by Turk of up to £40m. Turk denies the allegations.
Here is a timeline of events linked to the latest controversy to embroil the Duke of York:
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2005 Andrew is reported to have met Tarek Kaituni, a Libyan national with a conviction for gun smuggling, who is said to have facilitated meetings between Andrew and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
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2009 Beatrice is reported to have received a £20k diamond necklace from Kaituni for her 21st birthday, months before the duke allegedly lobbied a British company on his behalf.
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2014 After being stripped of his role as trade envoy, Andrew launches Pitch@Palace, a Dragon’s Den-style project, in which budding entrepreneurs would be given the opportunity to woo successful business people with rapid-fire pitches.
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12 October 2018 Eugenie marries brand ambassador Jack Brooksbank. Kaituni is said to have attended the wedding.
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May to June 2019 It is reported that Kaituni introduces Selman Turk to Andrew at a birthday celebration at Windsor Castle.
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July 2019 The Duchess of York is unveiled as an ambassador for Pegasus, for which she later receives payment via one of Turk’s companies, amounting to £225,000.
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October 2019 It is reported that two payments were made by Turk to Eugenie amounting to approximately £25,000. She denies knowing Turk or Isbilen.
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6 November 2019 The annual Pitch@Palace event is held at St James’s Palace. Turk wins the people’s choice award, voted for by the audience, for his pitch for his company Heyman AI, a digital bank aimed at millennials.
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14 November 2019 Andrew’s then-aide Amanda Thirsk has a conversation with Isbilen’s bank, in which Thirsk says a payment of £750k to be paid to Andrew relates to a wedding gift for Beatrice. The transcript is later published in the Daily Mail.
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15 November 2019 A transfer of £750k is made from Isbilen’s account to Andrew’s personal Coutts account. She later says Turk told her it was in return for assistance with a passport application.
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5 December 2019 Andrew allegedly visits Turk at his apartment in South Kensington, it is reported.
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February 2020 Turk and Kaituni are pictured at what is believed to be Frogmore House, a royal residence in Windsor Home Park.
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July 2020 Beatrice marries property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
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March 2021 Lawyers acting for Isbilen approach Andrew over the £750k payment. He does not comment but repays the money in full.
