Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and the York family received more than £1million from an allegedly corrupt financier acting on behalf of a Turkish millionaire, a court heard.
The High Court heard that the Duke of York, 63, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 64, along with their daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, received payments totaling £1.4 million from Selman Turk on behalf by Nebahat Isbilen.
Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker who agreed to help Isbilen invest his money in the UK, faces a possible jail sentence after being found in contempt of court for concealing details of his financial affairs, including payments to the Duchess of York.
Turk, 37, who denies any wrongdoing, faces a separate case over his use of Isbilen’s money.
It comes as the Duchess of York revealed she had been given the all-clear after being diagnosed with aggressive skin cancer earlier this year while attending a conference in Australia.
Prince Andrew, pictured shaking hands with London-based Turkish businessman and former banker Selman Turk, who is accused of defrauding one of his clients and arranging payments of £1.4 million to the duke and his family.
Selman Turk, pictured with the Duchess of York, also arranged payments for her, which the Duchess later returned.
İlhan İşbilen, Turkish MP and political prisoner married to Nebahat Isbilen
Mrs Isbilen hired Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker, to help her transfer her assets out of Turkey, where her husband, a wealthy congressman, is a political prisoner.
She alleges he tricked her into making a £750,000 payment to the duke, after claiming the royal had helped her get him a passport.
The court heard Turk claimed the money was “a gift to the Duke of York at his daughter’s wedding” which had been approved by Isbilen.
The money was paid several months before Princess Beatrice’s wedding to Edoardo Mozzi in July 2020.
However, the duke returned the money in 2021 after Isbilen’s lawyers wrote to him about her relationship with Turk.
The court was also told that in December 2019, Alphabet, a London-based company linked to Turk, paid £170,000 to Andrew over the course of a week. The court was told another invoice showed a payment of £212,676.56.
The Duchess of York wrote to Turk in October 2019 to thank him, saying: “Dear Selman, I’m Sarah, Tarek’s friend.
Turk is also alleged to have arranged payments for Princess Eugenie.
‘You have been incredibly kind and understanding and I want to honor your support and care. Would you be so kind as to help me? I will be delighted to invite you and Mrs. Turk to dinner at the Royal Lodge.
The Yorks have now reached a private settlement with Ms Isbilen, 77, that will allow them to stay out of the complex legal case in which Mr Turk and several offshore companies are being sued.
High Court Judge Sir Anthony Mann said the private arrangement “must be treated with caution” and noted that “something strange was going on” with the payments.
In a written ruling, he said: ‘There is no doubt that there was some kind of relationship. Under cross-examination, Mr. Turk claimed to have visited them 20 or 30 times (which was reduced slightly in a later response).
‘On 13 October 2019, the Duchess wrote (with a copy to Mr Kaituni) saying:
‘Dear Salman, I’m Sarah, Tarek’s friend. She has been incredibly kind and supportive and I want to honor his support and care. Would she be so kind as to help me? I will be delighted to invite you and Mrs. Turk to dinner at the Royal Lodge.
It is not alleged that the Yorks knew the money was stolen and they are not charged with any crime.
“Mr Turk was sure that he had met the Duchess many times before this email, but was unable to explain why, if that was the case, the Duchess felt the need to introduce herself in that way.
“The nature of ‘support’ was not investigated before me.”
The court was told Andrew met Turk through Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan arms smuggler with links to Colonel Gaddafi.
Ms Isbilen’s lawyers maintain that some of the payments were “part of a scheme” between Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan arms smuggler who had links to Colonel Gaddafi, and Turk “to get money to the Duke of York”.
The nature of the relationship between Prince Andrew, the Duchess and the Turk, or the reason he gave them money, is still unclear.
However, it is not alleged that the Yorks knew that the money could have been stolen and they are not charged with any crime.
sarah spoke about his situation with skin cancer in the Australian Sunrise program during a visit to the Global Citizen Now Summit in Melbourne.
She said: ‘Two days ago, I was given the all-clear (which has not been extended).
Sarah also spoke about her battle with breast cancer, after having a mammogram last year, warning all women that they should get an exam, which she did at the urging of her sister, Jane.
The Duchess of York appears at the Global Citizen Now Summit in Melbourne this week
The 64-year-old (pictured) is co-chair of Global Citizen NOW, a summit dedicated to ending extreme poverty.
She said: ‘I didn’t want to go, but I did. Of course, she saved my life because she had a check.
‘I ask anyone to go get a mammogram, a check-up, because I’m here, I’m fine. I call them (my breasts) Derrick and Eric, and they’re fine…they just had a mastectomy…Eric is pretty upset because he’s not that bouncy.’
The 64-year-old serves as co-chair of Global Citizen NOW, a summit dedicated to ending extreme poverty.
Explaining why she loves her role, she told PEOPLE: ‘I love the energy and enthusiasm of young people and care deeply about the issues Global Citizen focuses on: defeating poverty and defending the planet. “I am here to listen, learn and use the voice I have to amplify these messages.”
She She was dealt a devastating blow in January when doctors discovered malignant melanoma during a second reconstructive surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis last year.
The news came as a “huge shock” to Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, affectionately nicknamed Fergie, although friends said she was determined to “recover”.
