Call for probe into Prince Charles’ suitcase of cash

Prince Charles faces the prospect of a Charity Commission investigation after accepting a suitcase of cash from a controversial Middle East billionaire.

Questions have been asked about Prince Charles’ acceptance of €3m from a Qatari billionaire. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Charles faces the prospect of a Charity Commission investigation after accepting a suitcase of cash from a controversial Middle East billionaire.

Charles was accused on Sunday of “grubby” behaviour after it emerged that he personally ­received three separate bundles of notes, totalling €3m, for his charity from Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar.

The UK commission said it would review information about the donations, made in €500 notes between 2011 and 2015. ­According to Clarence House the prince passed the money immediately to one of his charities, which “carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed”.

There is no suggestion that the payments were illegal and they were deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, which offers grants to other non-profits in areas of interest to Charles. Charities are not prohibited from accepting cash donations but the regulator urges due diligence on donors to minimise risk to a charity’s reputation.

One of the trustees of the fund, which offers grants to big and small charities in areas of Charles’s interests, said that they had no knowledge of Sheik Hamad’s gifts at the time of the donations.

There were calls on Monday (AEST) for full and transparent investigation.

Royal commentator Dickie ­Arbiter said it was “a bit alarming that rich people can hand over bags of money”. He said, however, that charities needed to welcome ­donors and “the only thing Charles can be accused of is naivety”.

Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, who has written a book on royal finances, said: “A million euros in cash stuffed into bags, or shoved into a holdall or a suitcase, and handed over behind closed doors is what you might expect from a South American drug baron, not the heir to the British throne. This is grubby, scuzzy behaviour, which reinforces the view many are reaching, that Charles is not fit to be king.”

Mr Baker called on the watchdog to hold a full investigation.

Prince Charles in 2013 with then Qatari prime minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani at his residence outside Doha, Qatar. Picture: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Guidelines from the commission state that charity trustees should “take reasonable and appropriate steps” to know who donors are, “particularly where significant sums are being donated”. They add that the key to identifying suspicious donations is to “look out for exceptional features, such as unusually large amounts”.

The document advises trustees to carry out extra diligence on “significant donors” to minimise risk to the charity’s reputation. It states: “If you know that the donor you are familiar with is from a country or operates a business, perhaps outside of the UK, about which public concerns have been raised, then the trustees should take more steps to verify the provenance of the funds.”

The sheik has faced controversy in recent years, including claims that Qatar financed the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qa’ida, while he was in office. He was also accused of licensing the alleged torture of a Briton who reported being subjected to solitary confinement and psychological abuse. The sheik’s lawyers said the claims were “distortion, exaggeration and wholesale fabrication”.

It is unclear whether the prince’s fund made the commission aware of the donation or had trained staff in how to handle such donations.

Another of Charles’s charities, the Prince’s Foundation, is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police over an alleged cash-for-honours scandal. Michael Fawcett, the prince’s close confidant, has been accused of promising to help a Saudi billionaire donor to receive British citizenship and a knighthood. Mr Fawcett has ­resigned as chief executive of the foundation and Clarence House said that Charles had “no knowledge” of the alleged cash for honours.

Mr Baker questioned the competence of the prince’s advisers. “It’s just a medieval court. If the king wants something, the king gets it. That’s how it’s always worked. And Charles has a history of not liking people giving him frank advice … So Clarence House is full of yes men. It’s like Henry XIII.”

There is no suggestion of money laundering in this case. Royal sources said there was no question of the donation being for access as the sheik already knew Charles well and the money went straight to the charity.

The Times