An investigation has found that a Saudi tycoon allegedly received a knighthood by the royal family after he made a generous donation to The Prince Foundation, a charity founded by the Prince of Wales, The Sunday Times and Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
Similarly, a Russian banker, too, was promised a meeting with Prince Charles by middlemen in exchange for royal donations. Scotland’s charity regulator has launched an investigation into his donation – which was rejected by the Prince’s charity and reportedly not returned to the banker.
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The revelations have led to the resignation of three top-level employees of the charity, including Michael Fawcett, a close aide of Charles. The chief executive of The Prince Foundation has “temporarily stepped down” from his position to allow an investigation into the allegations.
Prince Charles has denied any information about offers of British honors in return for donations on his part.
What has come out in the investigation?
The Times and Daily Mail reported on Sunday, 4 September that Fawcett had stepped down after claims he helped set honors for Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who reportedly donated £1.55 to royal charities. Donated more than a million.
Newspapers published excerpts from letters Fawcett sent to Mahfouz, which show that in 2017 Mahfouz donated a large amount of cash to the renovation of Dumfries House, a Palladian mansion in Scotland. Fawcett thanked him in the letter for his “ongoing and recent generosity”.
He also offered to help secure citizenship and knighthood for Mahfouz. The letter published by The Sunday Times reads, “I am pleased to confirm with confidence that we are ready and happy to support and contribute to the application for citizenship. I can further confirm that we are ready to make [an] Application for increasing the honor of His Excellency from Honorary CBE [Commander of the British Empire] for kbe [Knight Commander of the British Empire] According to Her Majesty’s Honors Committee. “
British honor is given to notable persons who have made meaningful contribution in various fields like education, social welfare, arts, governance etc.
Mahfouz received a CBE in 2016 by Prince Charles in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace. According to the Times, the event was not published on the public list of royal engagements.
What about the Russian banker?
Shortly after the Cash for Honors scandal surfaced, the Scottish charity regulator last year announced an investigation into another set of donations made by a Russian banker, Dmitry Luce.
After the 51-year-old banker donated more than £500,000 in cash to The Prince’s Foundation, the Prince of Wales personally wrote a letter to Lewis, thanking him for his contribution.
The letter, published by the Daily Mail, read: “I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your encouragement in all that I am trying to achieve. Your support comes at such a critical time and I appreciate it very much.”
Prince Charles also once hoped to meet Louis COVID-19 The pandemic passes.
The Daily Mail further reported that Fawcett had brokered the meeting between Prince Charles and Louis through a middleman, William Bortrick, in exchange for his donation.
However, the foundation’s ethics committee found that Luis had been found guilty of money laundering in Russia in 2004 – a conviction later overturned – and, therefore, rejected his donation.
Britain’s Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, attend a service to mark the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Westminster Abbey in London, Sunday, September 19, 2021. (AP)
Luce was then informed that the six-figure sum had been diverted to another charity of Prince Charles, the Children and the Arts. However, this charity has claimed that it never received the amount and is now exhausted.
At the center of the whole affair is Bortrick, the editor of Burke’s Peerage, a definitive guide to the British aristocracy. According to the Daily Mail, Bortrich was responsible for sending Luce’s funds to The Prince Foundation. E-mails accessed by the newspaper show that out of £500,000, Bortrick passed on £200,000 on two separate occasions to the now-defunct Children and the Arts charity, another £200,000 to a British businessman, Wynne. -Parker was withheld while another £100,000.
The Daily Mail quoted Lewis as saying, “I made two separate donations through Burke’s peerage to the Prince Foundation totaling £500,000. I now learn that not all of these funds were then transferred to The Prince Foundation. No money was returned to me from the peerage of Burke.
Who is William Bortrick?
In the latest development, The Sunday Times reported on 19 September that Bortrich had contacted Charles for at least nine years, despite the Prince’s claim that he had no knowledge of any arrangements made through fixers or middlemen. had met once.
From the balcony of Church House, second left, Britain’s Prince Charles watches a flypast of the historic aircraft after a service to mark the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Westminster Abbey in London, Sunday, September 19, 2021. (AP)
The Times report described Bortrick as “a fixer who received thousands of pounds to help secure the honor of the Saudi billionaire and who pranked a personal thank you letter from Charles to a Russian donor.” “
Reports suggest that last year, following the donation of the luge, Bortrick and the Prince of Wales met at the Castle of May in Scotland. The Sunday Times said that Bortnik was given a £5,000 commission from the donation.
Investigations revealed their relationship till October 2014, when they first met at Dumfries House. The meeting marked the opening ceremony of the Mahfouz Garden, which was financed by the Saudi tycoon. The next year, Bortrich had an in-camera discussion with Mahfouz, Fawcett and Prince.
This was followed by a private ceremony to confer the CBE to Mahfouz, which was kept away from public knowledge but was attended by Bortrich.
The report also listed other meetings in Riyadh, however, a spokesman denied the allegations, saying that Bortrich only met with the prince in groups and never in private.
How has Prince Charles reacted?
In response to the allegations, Clarence House, the British royal residence, has denied any involvement of Prince Charles.
British media quoted the royals as saying: “The Prince of Wales has no knowledge of an alleged offer of honor or British citizenship based on his donation and fully supports the independent investigation now underway by the Prince’s Foundation. “
The foundation has started an independent investigation into the matter. Fawcett, who temporarily resigned from his position, said he was ready to “help in every way”.
Meanwhile, last week on 15 September, The Prince’s Foundation chairman resigned from his post, expressing “shock and dismay” at the “rogue activities” that he and the other trustees had no knowledge of.
The Guardian quoted Connell as saying, “I am of the view that any person presiding over an organization should take responsibility if it appears that serious misconduct has occurred within him.”
A day later, Chris Martin, deputy executive director of the Prince Foundation, also temporarily resigned from his position.
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