Prince Andrew has reached a confidential settlement with a Turkish millionaire who accused him of taking large sums of money from an alleged fraudster.
The Duke of York, along with his Duchess of York and their daughters, received around £1.4 million from former Goldman Sachs banker Selman Turk.
Turk, 37, is accused of stealing around £40 million from Nebahat Evyap Ibsilen, 77, who hired him to transfer her assets out of Turkey, where her MP is a political prisoner.
Ms Isbilen is suing Turk and several offshore companies over the missing money and has also filed contempt proceedings over an alleged breach of a court order.
She claimed he tricked her into making a £750,000 payment to the duke, who he claimed helped get her a British passport.
Turk claimed the payment, which the prince later reimbursed at the request of Ms Isbilen’s lawyers, was a gift to the duke for his daughter’s wedding.
Further payments were made to the Duke and his family, totaling £350,000 to the Duke, £225,000 to the Duchess and £25,000 to Princess Eugenie.
Eugenie said last year the money was given to her by an “old family friend” to help with the costs of a surprise party for her mother.
The High Court heard on Tuesday that the Duke and Duchess, who still live together, had settled with Ms Isbilen for an undisclosed sum.
According to The Telegraph, the money was paid through the British company Alphabet Capital.
The High Court heard that the payment was made shortly after Mr Turk won an award for his business idea for a digital bank at the Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace initiative.
Mr Turk denied that there was any connection between the payment to the Duke and his victory in the competition.
The court heard the Duke repaid the money in March 2021 after receiving letters from Ms Isbilen’s legal team.
The Duchess of York also received payments of £225,000, while Princess Eugenie received £25,000.
According to the Telegraph, the Duke of York was introduced to the businessman in May or June 2019 by convicted Libyan arms smuggler Tarek Kaituni – who had links to Colonel Gaddafi.
A source close to the Duchess of York told the newspaper that she was “completely unaware” of the allegations against Mr Turk when she took money from him.
Neither the Duke nor the Duchess are accused of wrongdoing. Turk denies all allegations against him.
The case continues.
