Prince Charles ‘accepted a suitcase stuffed with €1million in banknotes from controversial Qatari politician’
PRINCE Charles personally accepted €1million in cash stuffed in a suitcase from a controversial Qatari politician, reports say.
The extraordinary payment was one of three totalling €3million the Prince of Wales is said to have received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani between 2011 and 2015.
Clarence House said the money was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all the correct processes were followed”.
The sheikh, the former Prime Minister of Qatar nicknamed HBJ, handed over huge sums of cash in private meetings with Charles, .
At one meeting he reportedly presented €1million - around £861,000 - stuffed into carrier bags from posh grocer Fortnum & Mason.
At another one-to-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015, Charles accepted a holdall containing another €1million.
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Two advisers in the royal household hand-counted the cash, said to have been made up of now-discontinued €500 notes.
Private bank Coutts is then understood to have collected the suitcase from Charles’ London residence at the request of palace aides.
Each payment was deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund, a low-profile grant-making entity which bankrolls the prince’s pet projects and his country estate in Scotland.
Royals are banned from accepting gifts of money in connection with an official engagement or duty under the royal gift policy. They can accept a cheque as patron of or on behalf of a charity.
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Prince Charles’ meetings with the sheikh do not appear in the Court Circular, the list of official engagements undertaken by working royals.
But the revelation raises questions about the heir to the throne’s judgement including how much he knew, what he asked about the cash and his impartiality in representing Britain globally.
Prince Charles repeatedly visited Qatar after the payments, including during HBJ’s premiership.
There is no suggestion the payments were illegal.
Al Thani served as Qatar’s PM and minister of foreign affairs from 2007 to 2013, during which time he built close ties with British royalty. His lawyers declined to comment.
PWCF chairman Sir Ian Cheshire said on Friday: “At a few hours’ notice from The Sunday Times, we have checked into this event in the past, and confirm that the previous trustees of PWCF discussed the governance and donor relationship, (confirming that the donor was a legitimate and verified counterparty) and our auditors signed off on the donation after a specific enquiry during the audit. There was no failure of governance”.
He later confirmed he was referring to a 2015 payment, adding: “I believe the same assurance applied to earlier donations and look forward to confirming that in due course.”
Clarence House said: “We are disappointed not to have been given more time to look into this matter, which dates from a decade ago.
“In the few hours we have had on a Saturday, we have confirmed that Charitable donations were received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, and these were passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.”
Coutts said: “Whilst we maintain utmost confidentiality in relation to the bank’s clients and cannot comment on specific cases, we have longstanding and robust policies and controls to assess the source, nature and purpose of large and unusual transactions.
"In particular, receipt of cash payments by the bank receive thorough review and oversight.”
In November Prince Charles' top aide Michael Fawcett quit over a cash for honours row.
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He resigned from his post as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation and was said to be “heartbroken” and “shattered” by the events.
It followed reports Fawcett offered to help a billionaire Saudi donor to the prince’s charity secure a knighthood and British citizenship.
