Prince Andrew was introduced to Selman Turk, pictured, by a convicted Libyan gun smuggler, according to the Telegraph. Photo / Supplied
Prince Andrew was introduced to Selman Turk, pictured, by a convicted Libyan gun smuggler, according to the Telegraph. Photo / Supplied
Prince Andrew was introduced to an alleged fraudster who paid him more than £1 million (NZ$1.9m) by a convicted Libyan gun smuggler, the Telegraph can disclose.
The Duke of York was introduced to Selman Turk by Tarek Kaituni in the early summer of 2019 and the pair struck up a friendship, which included the Prince attending dinners at Turk's London home.
Kaituni, who has previously boasted of his influence over the Duke, had earlier brokered meetings between the royal and the late dictator Colonel Gaddafi and attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie at Windsor Castle in 2018.
It is alleged Turk stole the money from Nebahat Evyap Isbilen, a 77-year-old Turkish millionairess, who had trusted him with moving more than $87 million out of her homeland as she fled political persecution.
It is understood the Duke was introduced to Turk by Kaituni when they attended a birthday celebration at Windsor Castle sometime between May and June in 2019.
Turk had been introduced to Kaituni by mutual friends a few months earlier, sources told the Telegraph.
Following this initial introduction, Turk and Kaituni held meetings with Prince Andrew in London on at least two occasions, including at a dinner held for the Duke with potential investors at Turk's apartment in South Kensington on December 5, 2019.
Turk shared images with friends of him and Kaituni inside what is believed to be Frogmore House, the royal residence in Windsor Great Park, during a visit in February 2020.
Prince Andrew first became involved with Kaituni, who has US citizenship, in 2005. The same year, Kaituni was convicted of attempting to smuggle a submachine gun from Holland to France.
The Libyan gave Beatrice an £18,000 gold and diamond necklace after he was invited by Prince Andrew to her 21st birthday party in Spain in August 2009, months before the Duke allegedly lobbied a British company on his behalf.
The only time the Duke and Turk have been pictured in public together is at the Pitch@Palace event in November 2019 when Turk was awarded a People's Choice award for his "digital bank" Heyman AI.
Days later, one payment of £750,000 was made directly from Isbilen to the Duke, which she believed was a "gift" she had to pay for help with her passport. It is understood Isbilen was also told by Turk the Duke would be able to help with the case of her husband, a politician who is imprisoned in Turkey.
Turk and the Duke's private office later told her bankers the money was for a wedding gift for Princess Beatrice.
A transcript of phone calls obtained by The Telegraph shows Turk telling an official from Isbilen's private bank Hampden & Co on November 14, 2019, the £750,000 payment is for Beatrice's wedding.
In answer to a question from Stephen Buckland as to why the sum is so large, Turk says: "Wedding - so basically wedding - so for the cost of the wedding" adding late in the conversation: "Wedding gift, so basically it's a gift to the bride."
In a separate call on the same day Buckley asks Prince Andrew's then legal adviser Amanda Thirsk to confirm whether the payment, which he describes as of an "unusual nature", is a gift for the cost of the wedding or a gift to Princess Beatrice.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew arrive for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London, last week. Photo / AP
Thirsk replies: "I mean, I'm not sure it makes much difference, does it? I think it's a gift for the wedding . . .
"What she and her family decide to do with it is really to do with them, isn't it?"
Isbilen, who attended the Pitch@Palace event has, in papers filed as part of the legal proceedings, suggested the transfer could be connected to the award Turk won that evening.
The Duke was photographed with Turk at the glitzy awards night at St James's Palace in November 2019, one of his last public appearances before he lost his Royal titles.
A former business associate of Turk told this newspaper when they heard of the timing of the payment they became suspicious about the award.
The former business partner said Turk had told Isbilen the money paid to the Prince was for his help in getting her husband Ilhan, 76, out of jail in Turkey, where he remains as a political prisoner after his alleged role in the failed coup against President Erdogan in 2016.
But the former business partner claims Turk "intimated to me in various conversations the money was all to do with ensuring Heyman AI did well at Pitch@Palace".
