Prince Andrew could be dragged into SECOND court over claims his estate was bought to launder cash
Prince Andrew faces being dragged into SECOND court battle over claims his £15m Berkshire estate was bought to launder millions in dirty cash
Sunninghill Park was gifted by the Queen to Andrew as a wedding giftHe sold the Berkshire property in 2007 to Kazakh tycoon Timur KulibayevThe Duchess of York lived on there with daughters following the divorce
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Prince Andrew may become a witness in a High Court case between a businessman and a private investigation firm.
The potential court action is between billionaire Arvind Tiku and a company called S-RM Intelligence.
Mr Tiku is suing S-RM for £50,000 damages to personal dignity, autonomy and integrity over a report the firm wrote about him.
The Duke of York is not party to the litigation and only linked due to his former Sunninghill Park mansion home. Buckingham Palace have previously denied he wrongly benefitted from the sale.
Andrew sold the sprawling Berkshire property in 2007 to Kazakh tycoon called Timur Kulibayev in a £15million deal.
The PI report alleges there were suspicions the estate was bought to launder money which had come from the sale of Kazakh assets. Andrew’s representatives say it was a straightforward commercial transaction, as does Mr Kulibayev.
Delightful Sunninghill Park was first gifted by the Queen to Andrew as a wedding gift
Prince Andrew then sold the Berkshire property in 2007 to Kazakh tycoon Timur Kulibayev
The Duchess of York lived on there with daughters Beatrice and Eugenie following the divorce
But now Mr Tiku – who is named in the report as a ‘trusted representative’ of Mr Kulibayev – has issued a High Court writ disputing the allegations and accusing authors S-RM Intelligence of breaching data-protection rights.
Lawyers for Mr Kulibayev have yet to respond to a request for comment on the reported legal action, but Mr Kulibayev has consistently denied accusations he laundered money and rebutted claims he paid over the asking price for the Sunninghill Park.
Mr Tiku’s lawyers insist all of the allegations had been investigated and no wrongdoing had been found.
His writ also accuses S-RM Intelligence of wrongfully processing his personal data.
Mr Tiku’s lawyers insist he did not embezzle funds and did not launder cash by helping buy Sunninghill Park.
They also deny he was ever a ‘trusted representative’ of Mr Kulibayev or ever held assets for him.
The writ is seeking £50,000 for damages to personal dignity, autonomy and integrity.
The then married couple inspected the site at Sunninghill Park as building work went on
Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson was very fond of the property and stayed there after divorce
The sprawling property was built in a ranch style and prompted comparison to US-style homes
Mr Tiku’s lawyers insist he did not embezzle funds and did not launder cash by helping buy Sunninghill Park
Sunninghill Park was gifted by the Queen to her second son as a wedding gift and is under the Heathrow flight path where planes pass over it every few minutes.
At one time it was dubbed SouthYork because it resembles Southfork, the ranch-house in TV’s Dallas.
Designed by Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith, who also created a development on the Balmoral estate, ‘SouthYork’ was given to Andrew after his marriage in 1986.
The Duchess of York lived on there with daughters Beatrice and Eugenie following the divorce in 1996, but moved out in 2006 and joined Andrew at his home Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
Andrew has recently settled a £6.6 million debt with a French socialite, paving the way for him to sell his beloved ski chalet to fund his alleged sex abuse case.
Isabelle de Rouvre, 74, sold her house, Chalet Helora, to her then-friends Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2014 for £18million.
Andrew and Fergie agreed with Ms de Rouvre that the house would be paid for in instalments.
But Ms de Rouvre claimed the Yorks failed to make the final instalment of £5m for the property in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Verbier.
Initially Ms de Rouvre agreed that it could be deferred until December 2019, with interest accruing, but the pair still did not honour the agreement despite repeated demands.
Glamorous Ms de Rouvre, saddened by the breakdown in trust, was forced to launch a legal battle in the Swiss courts two years ago in an attempt to recoup the sum owed to her by the Duke of York.
The Duke finally paid late last year, and Ms de Rouvre has now said: ‘The war is over. He has paid the money.’
The settlement raises questions over how Andrew raised the £6.6million he owed Ms de Rouvre – but it now paves the way for him to sell Chalet Helora and free up desperately needed cash to pay his escalating legal bills due to claims he sexually assaulted Virginia Roberts.
Andrew denies any wrongdoing.
