Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor called as a witness in fraud case

High Court summons

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has received a summons requiring him to give evidence at the High Court in London in a fraud case on or around 15 December, BBC News reports, citing information it has obtained. The trial is due to begin in mid-November; witness evidence is usually given in person, but appearing by video link is also possible. According to the BBC, such a witness summons issued to a member of the royal family is believed not to have been served since the 19th century.

The case and Andrew's role

Andrew is not accused of any wrongdoing, but he will have to answer questions about his own financial arrangements: according to the claimant, he received part of the disputed payments. Nebahat Isbilen, an elderly Turkish citizen, alleges that her former financial adviser, Selman Turk, deceived her and used her wealth for his own benefit. Turk firmly denies any dishonesty; his representatives at Janes Solicitors said he expects to be vindicated in court.

The disputed payments

According to court documents, Isbilen claims that Turk persuaded her to transfer £750,000 to Andrew, ostensibly to help with obtaining a passport. Turk denies this and says the payment was a gift made at Isbilen's own initiative to gain favour with the then Duke of York and had nothing to do with a passport. In 2021, Isbilen's lawyers contacted the then Prince Andrew, and the money was returned. A separate sum is also under examination — around £768,000 withdrawn from Isbilen's account in January 2020: Turk describes it as a loan to Andrew for the purchase of a chalet in Switzerland, which Isbilen disputes and which was already contested at earlier hearings.

Context and significance

Turk met Andrew in the autumn of 2019 through the Pitch@Palace project — a Dragons' Den-style event organised by the then Duke; the acquaintance led to joint meetings between Turk, his family, Isbilen, and the Duke and Duchess of York. Last month Judge Adam Johnson ruled that given the seriousness of the allegations, Turk must have access to 'evidence which he considers relevant', and it was on his application that Andrew was called as a witness. The £750,000 transfer came the day after Andrew recorded his interview for BBC Newsnight in 2019, which was followed by his withdrawal from royal duties. The December appearance will be the first public questioning of Mountbatten-Windsor since that interview and his first public statement since being stripped of his titles; in recent years his personal finances have repeatedly raised questions due to a lack of transparency, and the trial offers a rare opportunity to hear his own explanations.

Image source, Press Association