Prince Andrew received tens of thousands of pounds from a British businessman connected to a wealth management company that defrauded pension savers, court documents have revealed.
The King’s brother, who last week announced he would no longer use his titles including the Duke of York, has long faced questions about his finances and how he funds his lifestyle. The latest revelations raise fresh concerns about his judgement and choice of business associates.
High Court documents show Andrew received £60,500 from British businessman Adrian Gleave in December 2019, just weeks after his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview which led to his withdrawal from public life. The payments emerged during a legal case brought by an elderly Turkish millionaire against a business adviser.
The money was funnelled through a British company owned by Mr Gleave called Alphabet Capital Limited. According to an agreed statement of facts signed by or on behalf of the Duke and Duchess, Mr Gleave and Alphabet, the company had previously made and might in future make substantial payments to Prince Andrew.
The payments came months after Mr Gleave had stepped down as a director of SVS Securities, a company ordered to stop trading by the Financial Conduct Authority over pension mis-selling allegations. The timing of the transactions has prompted questions about the source of the funds and the nature of Andrew’s relationship with the businessman.
SVS Securities collapsed in August 2019, days after the FCA ordered it to cease regulated activities. Investigators found that clients’ pension funds had been invested in high-risk bonds against their interests in order to generate large commissions for SVS.
Some investments made on the basis of undisclosed commissions subsequently defaulted, leaving customers with substantial losses. The FCA also discovered that investors were charged excessive fees to withdraw funds in an effort to boost profits.
Mr Gleave, 55, served as head of business development at SVS, which he joined in 2013. He remained a registered director on the FCA’s register until late July 2019, less than two weeks before the regulator’s intervention against the company.
He had been a company director registered with Companies House until a couple of months earlier, although his LinkedIn profile claims he left the business in November 2018. Three SVS directors were later banned and fined by the FCA, though Mr Gleave was not amongst them. Two are currently appealing the decision.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has paid out more than £41 million to former SVS customers who lost money through the company’s activities. The scale of compensation underscores the extent of harm caused to pension savers.
At the time of his dealings with Prince Andrew, Mr Gleave also operated numerous caravan and mobile home parks in Northern Ireland and England. He was reportedly working out of one such park, a retirement village for over-55s on the east coast of Northern Ireland.
Ten of the parks have since entered administration. Mr Gleave, who did not respond to requests for comment, now works for a renewable energy company with a focus on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency financing.
Neither Prince Andrew nor Mr Gleave have ever explained the reason for the payments or disclosed the nature of any contractual relationship between them. The lack of transparency has fuelled speculation about what services, if any, Andrew provided in exchange for the money.
Baroness Margaret Hodge, former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said Mr Gleave’s business background raised serious questions about Prince Andrew’s judgement and financial dealings. She called for transparency to answer legitimate questions about the origins of the money and the purpose of the payments.
The veteran Labour MP warned that without those answers, any sceptical person would worry about potential financial wrongdoing taking place. She added that such concerns risk sullying the reputation of the Royal Family.
Beyond the direct payments, court documents show Mr Gleave’s company Alphabet Capital was used to funnel significant sums originating from Turkish millionaire Nebahat Isbilen to Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Ms Ferguson received £50,000 from Alphabet Capital in February 2020. Previous reports indicated she was paid £20,000 by Alphabet for an advisory role and received over £200,000 for work as a brand ambassador for a US solar energy company.
Prince Andrew separately received £750,000 directly from Ms Isbilen, money which he has since repaid. The circumstances surrounding that substantial sum and its subsequent return have not been fully explained.
Another £10,000 was paid from Alphabet Capital to the couple’s daughter, Princess Eugenie. This payment, along with £15,000 from Ms Isbilen’s business adviser, was previously described by Eugenie as a gift from a long-standing family friend to pay for a surprise birthday party for her mother.
Alphabet Capital filed accounts claiming it was a dormant company at the time of the payments. These were later corrected but listed a turnover of just £80,000, raising questions about how the company could facilitate such substantial transactions.
Prince Andrew stepped down as a working royal in 2019 due to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He no longer receives any money from the King, making his sources of income a matter of public interest.
Although his finances remain largely opaque, details of some arrangements and controversial business associates have occasionally emerged from court cases. The latest revelations add to a growing picture of questionable financial relationships.
The Duke’s decision last week to relinquish his titles came amid mounting pressure over his conduct and associations. However, questions about how he maintains his lifestyle at Royal Lodge, his Windsor home, persist.
The case brought by Ms Isbilen alleged that money she paid to Andrew and Ferguson had been misappropriated by a business adviser. The legal proceedings have provided a rare window into the financial arrangements surrounding the Duke.
Prince Andrew and Mr Gleave did not respond to requests for comment on the payments or their business relationship. The silence has done little to dispel concerns about the propriety of the transactions.
The revelations come at a sensitive time for the Royal Family as it seeks to modernise and maintain public confidence. Financial scandals involving senior royals threaten to undermine efforts to present the monarchy as accountable and transparent.
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Image Credit:
Prince Andrew, Duke of York — photo by Titanic Belfast, licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
