Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, roped into fraud case tied to royal
Turkish millionaire claimed she was tricked into transferring funds to Duke of York's personal bank account
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, have been roped into their father’s latest scandal.
Turkish millionaire Nebahat Evyap Isbilen is alleging that she entrusted her financial adviser Selman Turk with £67 million, including payments to the prince totaling more than £1 million, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for £225,000 and Eugenie for £25,000, The Telegraph first reported.
According to the complaint in the High Court case, included in the money paid to Queen Elizabeth II’s son was a payment of £750,000 made in November 2019, which was days after Turk won a prize at Andrew's Pitch@Palace competition for budding entrepreneurs.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Isbilen said she believed the payment was for the prince's assistance with obtaining a new passport after she fled the country, where her husband is imprisoned, the outlet reported. However, Turk and Andrew's office allegedly told her bankers that the sum was a "wedding gift" for Beatrice, who married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020.
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Prince Andrew shares two daughters, Princess Eugenie, left, and Princess Beatrice with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. (Hannah McKay - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Court documents noted that when Andrew was contacted about the payment by Isbilen's lawyers in March 2021, he returned the £750,000.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A representative for the Duke of York, 62, told Fox News Digital they cannot comment on ongoing legal matters.
A spokesperson for Ferguson, 62, told Fox News Digital: "The Duchess was completely unaware of the allegations that have since emerged against Mr. Turk. She is naturally concerned by what has been alleged against him."
Spokespeople for Eugenie, 32, and Beatrice, 33, also didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. However, the outlet noted that it’s believed the sisters didn’t have any knowledge of any alleged dealings with Turk. In addition, they didn’t knowingly correspond with Turk.
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Britain's Prince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II, has been embroiled in another legal scandal. (Steve Parsons/Pool Photo via AP)
"On 31 March 2022 I received a letter from solicitors Peters & Peters representing their client Nebahat Evyap Isbilen in her claim against a Mr. Selman Turk, and various companies," Eugenie told People magazine in a statement. "I know neither Mrs. Isbilen nor Mr. Turk (nor any other details of the claim) and I was surprised to receive this letter, which asked me to explain two payments made to my bank account in October 2019, which I understood to be gifts from a long-standing family friend to assist with the cost of a surprise party for my mother, Sarah, Duchess of York's 60th birthday."
"In early October 2019 I had received a call from our family friend saying that he wanted to make a financial contribution towards my mother's birthday party to assist with the catering costs," she continued. "I suggested that any contribution could be made directly to the caterers, but in the event provided my account details to which two payments were made totaling £25,000, which I then transferred on to the company organizing my mother's party."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am now consulting with my lawyers who I have asked to respond to Peters & Peters on my behalf to assist in their inquiries," Eugenie concluded in her statement.
It is one of many scandals surrounding the Duke of York in recent months. In February, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre in her sex assault lawsuit against the British prince. The American woman, 38, alleged she was trafficked by the convicted sex offender, American financier Jeffrey Epstein, and forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew repeatedly denied the allegations.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A spokesperson for Sarah Ferguson told Fox News Digital that the Duchess of York is concerned about the allegations being made. (Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Andrew reportedly settled his debt on a ski lodge in the Swiss resort of Verbier. According to reports, Isabelle de Rouvre sold the property to Andrew and his ex-wife in 2014. However, there was a dispute surrounding the final payment of their share. De Rouvre said an agreement was made in November.
"That war is finished," she told U.K.’s Daily Mail at the time. "It is the end of the matter. I have nothing to do with it now. That’s all."
And most recently, Ferguson shared a series of Instagram posts on behalf of Andrew, which originally included his banned "His Royal Highness" title. The post was about his service with the Royal Navy during the Falklands War.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In January, the queen stripped Andrew of his military affiliations and royal patronages in the wake of his legal battle with Giuffre. While Andrew would retain his title as duke, as well as maintain his place in the line of succession to the throne, he can no longer use "HRH" in any official capacity.
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Prince Andrew recently accompanied his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, for a service honoring his late father, Prince Philip. (Getty Images)
Soon after the message was posted, it was amended to remove "HRH" ahead of Andrew’s Duke of York title. The posts were then deleted altogether.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reps for Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Ferguson had no comment.