Andrew was paid millions for mansion by oligarch linked to bribery scheme
A BBC investigation has revealed that Prince Andrew received millions of pounds from a Kazakh billionaire with links to criminal activity. In 2007, Timur Kulibayev bought the Prince's former home, Sunninghill Park in Berkshire, for £15 million. This was £3 million more than the asking price and about £7 million more than the property was actually worth.
It has now emerged that Mr Kulibayev used a loan to buy the house from a company called Enviro Pacific Investments. According to Italian prosecutors, this company was involved in a massive bribery and corruption scheme. While Mr Kulibayev has never been charged and his lawyers insist the money was legitimate, an Italian oil executive previously pleaded guilty to paying bribes to Kazakh officials through the same network of companies.
The sale has raised serious questions about whether Prince Andrew accidentally profited from the proceeds of crime. Financial experts say the deal had "blatant red flags" because it involved offshore companies and a price far above the market value. By law, solicitors are required to carry out strict checks to make sure property deals are not being used for money laundering.
At the time of the sale, Prince Andrew was serving as a UK trade envoy and had close ties to the then-president of Kazakhstan, who is Mr Kulibayev’s father-in-law. Although the Prince previously joked about being "overpaid" for the house, critics and anti-corruption campaigners are now calling for a full investigation. They argue that nobody, including the Royal Family, should be above the law when it comes to transparent financial dealings.
Both Buckingham Palace and Prince Andrew have declined to comment on the findings. Meanwhile, the house at Sunninghill Park was eventually knocked down in 2016, and although a new mansion was built in its place, it remains empty.
