Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and the York family received more than £1 million from an allegedly corrupt financier acting on behalf of a Turkish millionaire, a court has heard.
The High Court heard the Duke of York, 63, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 64, alongside their daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, received payments totalling £1.4 million from Selman Turk on behalf of Nebahat Isbilen.
Mr Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker who agreed to help Isbilen invest her money in the UK, faces a possible jail sentence after being found to be 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 an aggressive skin cancer earlier this year whilst 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 £1.4m in payments for the Duke and his family
Selman Turk, pictured with the Duchess of York, also arranged payments for her, which the Duchess later repaid
İlhan İşbilen, a Turkish MP and political prisoner who is married to Nebahat Isbilen
Mrs Isbilen hired Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker, to help transfer her assets out of Turkey, where her husband, a wealthy MP, is a political prisoner.
She alleges that he tricked her into making one payment of £750,000 to the Duke, after claiming the Royal had helped to secure her a passport.
The court heard that Turk claimed the money was ‘a gift to the Duke of York on his daughter’s wedding’ which had been approved by Isbilen.
The money was paid several months before the wedding of Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mozzi in July 2020.
However, the duke repaid the money in 2021 after Isbilen’s lawyers wrote to him about his relationship with Turk.
The court was also told that in December 2019, Alphabet, a company based in London, which is connected to Turk, paid £170,000 to Andrew over the course of a week. The court was told that another invoice showed a payment for £212,676.56.
The Duchess of York wrote to Turk in October 2019 to thank him, saying: ‘Dear Selman, I am Sarah, the friend of Tarek.
It is also alleged that Turk arranged payments for Princess Eugenie
‘You have been incredibly kind and supportive and I wish to honour your support and care. Would you be so kind to help and I would be delighted to invite you and Mrs Turk to dinner at Royal Lodge.’
The Yorks have now reached a private settlement with Mrs Isbilen, 77, which will allow them to be kept out of the complex legal case in which Turk and various offshore companies are being sued.
High Court judge Sir Anthony Mann said that the private settlement ‘must be treated with caution’ and noted that ‘something odd was going on’ with the payments.
In a written judgment, he said: ‘There is no doubt that there was some sort of relationship. In his cross-examination Mr Turk claimed to have visited them 20 or 30 times (reduced slightly in a later answer).
‘On 13th October 2019 the Duchess wrote to him (copied to Mr Kaituni), saying:
‘Dear Salman, I am Sarah, the friend of Tarek. You have been incredibly kind and supportive and I wish to honour your support and care. Would you be so kind to help and I would be delighted to invite you and Mrs Turk to dinner at Royal Lodge.’
It is not alleged that the Yorks were aware the money was stolen and they are not accused of any wrongdoing
‘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 manner.
‘The nature of the ‘support’ was not investigated before me.’
The court was told that Andrew was introduced to Turk by Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan gun smuggler with links to Colonel Gaddafi.
Lawyers for Mrs Isbilen argue that some of the payments were ‘part of a scheme’ between Tarek Kaituni, a convicted Libyan gun smuggler who had links to Colonel Gaddafi, and Turk ‘to get moneys to the Duke of York’.
The nature of the relationship between Prince Andrew and Duchess and Turk, or the reason he gave them money, remain unclear.
However, it is not alleged that the Yorks were aware the money may have been stolen and they are not accused of any wrongdoing.
Sarah spoke about her skin cancer situation on the Australian programme Sunrise during a visit for the Global Citizen Now Summit in Melbourne.
She said: ‘Two days ago, I got the all clear (that it hasn’t spread).
Sarah also spoke of her breast cancer battle, after getting a mammogram last year , warning all women they should get checked, which she did at the urging of her sister, Jane.
The Duchess of York appearing at the Global Citizen Now Summit in Melbourne this week
The 64-year-old (pictured) serves as 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 I had a check.
‘I’m asking anyone to go have a mammogram, check-up, because I’m here, I’m fine. I call them (my breasts) Derrick and Eric, and they’re fine … only had a single mastectomy … Eric’s rather upset because he is not as 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 I care deeply about the issues that Global Citizen is focused on: defeating poverty and defending the planet. I am here to listen, learn and use the voice that I have to amplify these messages.’
She received a devastating blow in January when doctors discovered a malignant melanoma during a second bout of reconstructive surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis last year.
The news came as a ‘huge shock’ to Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, affectionately dubbed Fergie , although friends said she was determined to ‘bounce back’.
