Prince Andrew paid by businessman tied to pension rip-off company

Prince Andrew was paid tens of thousands of pounds by a British businessman connected to a wealth management firm that defrauded pension savers.

The King's brother, who resigned as a working royal in 2019 due to his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, no longer receives public funds and has long faced concerns about his finances and how he funds his lifestyle.

Although the full extent of his finances is not clear, disclosures of some of his deals and controversial business associates have occasionally emerged from court cases. Prince Andrew did not respond to requests for comment.

Andrew received £60,500 from a British businessman, Adrian Gleave, in December 2019, a few weeks after the BBC Newsnight interview that resulted in his withdrawal from public life. The payments were revealed in a High Court lawsuit brought by an elderly Turkish millionaire, Nebahat Isbilen, who alleged that a business adviser misappropriated her money, paying some of it to Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

The funds were funnelled through Alphabet Capital Limited, a British company belonging to Mr Gleave. According to an agreed statement of facts signed by or on behalf of the Duke and Duchess, Mr Gleave, and Alphabet, the company had "previously made substantial payments to HRH Prince Andrew the Duke of York" and "may in the future make" further payments.

Prince Andrew's payments, which were also sent via Alphabet Capital, came months after the businessman resigned as a director of SVS Securities, a company that had been ordered to suspend trading due to pension mis-selling allegations.

SVS Securities collapsed in August 2019, only days after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had ordered it to suspend its regulated operations. It was discovered that clients' pension funds had been invested in high-risk bonds, contrary to their intentions, in order to generate substantial commissions for SVS. Many investments made on the basis of undisclosed commissions defaulted, leaving customers with substantial losses. According to the FCA, investors were also charged large fees to withdraw funds in an attempt to raise revenues.

Mr Gleave, 55, was the head of business growth at SVS, which he had joined in 2013. He remained an approved person on the FCA's register until late July 2019, less than two weeks before the regulator's intervention. He had not been a company director registered with Companies House for some months prior, and on LinkedIn, his profile indicated he had left the company in November 2018.

The FCA later disciplined and banned three SVS directors, but Mr Gleave was not one of them. Two are appealing the decision. Former SVS customers have been paid more than £41 million in compensation by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

At the time of his association with Prince Andrew, Mr Gleave operated several caravan and mobile home parks in Northern Ireland and England. He was reported to have worked out of one of the parks, a retirement village for over-55s on the east coast of Northern Ireland. Ten of the parks have since gone into administration, and Mr Gleave, who did not respond to a request for comment, now works for a renewable energy company with a focus on AI and crypto finance.

Neither Prince Andrew nor Mr Gleave has ever explained the reason for the payments or the specifics of any relationship between the two men.

Mr Gleave's business history raises concerns about Prince Andrew's judgement and financial dealings, according to Baroness Margaret Hodge, a former chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

"This is yet another example where transparency is needed to answer legitimate concerns about the source of the funds and the intended use of the payment," she said. "Without those answers, any reasonable person would be concerned that there might be some financial corruption taking place, and this could jeopardise the Royal family's image."

Mr Gleave's firm, Alphabet Capital, was also used to funnel substantial sums originating from Ms Isbilen to Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, in addition to the payments he made himself. In February 2020, Ms Ferguson was paid £50,000 by Alphabet Capital. She was also paid £20,000 by Alphabet for a role as an adviser to the company, and she received more than £200,000 to cover work she had done as a brand ambassador for a US solar energy company.

Prince Andrew was paid £750,000 by Ms Isbilen directly, money that he has since repaid. Eugenie, the couple's daughter, received another £10,000 from Alphabet Capital. Eugenie said this £10,000, as well as a separate £15,000 payment from Ms Isbilen's business consultant, was a gift from a "long-serving family friend" intended to pay for her mother Sarah's surprise birthday party.

Alphabet Capital filed documents claiming it was a dormant company at the time of the payments. These were later updated, but they showed a turnover of just £80,000.

Prince Andrew and Mr Gleave did not respond to requests for comment.