A major Tory party donor transferred £1.5million to Prince Andrew just days after he took out a loan from a bank controlled by the Conservative-backer’s family, it has today been reported.
It is claimed that David Rowland, a former Tory treasurer, wired the money in December 2017 to a London account owned by the Duke of York.
Rowland’s family owned Banque Havilland SA, a Luxembourg-based private bank.
According to documents reportedly seen by Bloomberg News, the transfer to Prince Andrew’s account was earmarked as a repayment of a £1.5million loan.
Bloomberg reports that the loan came from Banque Havilland and was taken out eleven days prior.
It was a reportedly a replacement for a previous £1.25million loan from Banque Havilland and is said to have been extended or increased 10 times since 2015.
According to Bloomberg, the additional £250,000 borrowed by Prince Andrew was earmarked as for ‘general working capital and living expenses’.
The Albany Reserves was registered in Guernsey and controlled by The Rowland family. The prince got the money.
Mr Rowland, who has donated more than £6million to the Conservative party, is listed as a director of Albany Reserves, according to company filings.
According to the Bloomberg report, the increase in the unsecured loan was ‘not in line with the risk appetite of the bank’, but it was noted that it opened up ‘further business potential with the Royal Family’.
David Rowland, a former Tory treasurer (pictured), wired the money in December 2017 to a London account owned by the Duke.
According to Bloomberg, the additional £250,000 borrowed by Prince Andrew (pictured) was earmarked as for ‘general working capital and living expenses’
Bloomberg reports that the loan came from Banque Havilland, which was taken out eleven days prior.
David Rowland, the son of London’s scrap dealer and one of the UK’s richest men.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, in 2019 David Rowland (pictured) was worth over £650million. In 2009, his family established Banque Hallivand.
Rowland, the son of South London’s scrap metal dealer, is now one of the UK’s wealthiest men.
Fordham was the first property developer to make his million, and it went public on the Stock Exchange at 23, when Fordham became a publicly traded company.
At the time he was nicknamed ‘Spotty’ because of his relative youth and lingering acne – and the nickname stuck.
He was often featured in media headlines for his business activities.
He was one of the first financiers to spot the potential money-making value of top soccer clubs, and was the secret figure behind the £800,000 takeover of Edinburgh Hibernian, parent company of Hibs football club in the Scottish capital, in 1987.
But the deal turned sour when the company went into receivership – after having asked thousands of fans to plough their money into the club.
Additionally, he also used one his trusts in order to purchase Chesterton estate agents, which later went into receivership following 200 years of trading.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, in 2019 he was worth over £650million. In 2009, his family founded Banque Hallivand.
The father-of-8, he is also a resident at Hallivand Hall in Guernsey.
Prince Andrew was invited to the estate by Andrew in 2005, to help him open a bronze life-size statue of Rowland smoking cigarettes.
At the age of 23, he had already made his first million. He also floated Fordham on the Stock Exchange one year later.
Having built a huge business empire, Mr Rowland was a tax exile for more than 30 years but returned to the UK before the 2010 General Election so he could pump £2.7 million into the Tories’ campaign war chest.
He was running to be the Tory party treasurer in 2012, but he resigned shortly after. Due to his status as an exile tax payer, the move was heavily criticised.
In an earlier year, he was accused of being part in a global conspiracy to destroy the Qatari state.
Earlier this year it was said by a judge how Mr Rowland would not voluntarily allow access to email accounts that it is claimed could shed light on his bank’s alleged role in a conspiracy by some of the UK’s closest international allies to undermine the Gulf state by manipulating financial markets.
Qatar is suing the former Conservative treasurer’s Luxembourg bank, Banque Havilland, which was formally opened by the Duke of York. It strongly denied any involvement in any plot.
MailOnline was told by a spokesperson for The Duke of York that they did not intend to comment on whether the assertions made were true or false. However, the spokesperson stated that The Duke of York is entitled to privacy when he manages his own financial affairs. All appropriate accounting procedures are taken and all taxes paid.
MailOnline received a statement from Banque Havilland stating that they could not comment about transactions or clients.
“Like other financial institutions, routine inspections and audits are conducted on us and all disclosures made.
Bank’s first priority is to comply with regulatory and legal requirements. Any suspicion of wrongdoing are categorically dispelled.
MailOnline tried to reach Mr Rowland by contacting one of his businesses and via the Conservative Party.
There have been questions about Prince Andrew’s lavish lifestyle with a modest income.
Once dubbed ‘Air Miles Andy’ because of his regular trips abroad, Prince Andrew, 61, is to have an £270,000-a-year income from publicly available sources.
This includes a £249,000 a year from annual stipend from the Queen, which is topped up with £20,000 from his naval pension.
Despite that, he bought a £13million seven-bedroom ski chalet in the sought-after Swiss resort of Verbier in 2014.
Reports in the Daily Mail last year suggested the royal may have to sell the property, jointly owned by his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, repay part of a reported £6.7million debt. In September, the Sunday Times reported that Prince Andrew was nearing selling the property.
The Sunday Times stated that there had been an agreement. To pay the debt, Isabelle de Rouvre, a French socialite, reached out to the former owner of the property.
In 2014, alongside the Verbier chalet, Prince Andrew also splashed out £7.5million to refurbish Royal Lodge, his 30-room home in Windsor Great Park.
An acquaintance told The Sun, in 2019, that Andrew was like a hot balloon.
“He appears to drift serenely about in extremely rarefied circles, without any support.”
After retiring from the Royal Navy, Prince Andrew, Duke of York was named the UK’s Special Rep for International Trade and Investment.
But, in spite of strong criticism about his friendship to Jeffrey Epstein (a paedophile financier), he resigned in 2011.
Epstein had already been convicted in the first instance of sexual offences. However, wider charges of sex traficking that would eventually lead to Epstein’s arrest had not yet come out.
Following the revelation of further allegations, Prince Andrew decided to step back from leading royal duties in 2019. Epstein, who was awaiting his trial for sex trafficking allegations, died in prison.
Since then, the royal has been embroiled in his own sexual claims. Virginia Giuffre (now Virginia Roberts), an Esptein accuser, claimed that she had sex at the Prince’s place while being trafficked to him by Epstein, his former girlfriend, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxiwell.
Ms. Roberts currently sues the prince in an American civil case. Prince Andrew strongly denies all claims and plans to defend the suit.
Ms Maxwell is awaiting trial for charges of sex-trafficking. Yesterday was the start of the selection process for six-weeks trial jurors.
Bloomberg has reported that Mr Rowland and Prince Andrew have not been the only ones to be in the news.
According to Daily Mail, bombshell emails revealing that Prince Andrew used official trade missions in order promote UK businesses, suggested that he was promoting a private Luxembourg-based bank that is for the super-rich and owned by Rowland.
Picture of Prince Andrew on his February 2007 skiing vacation in Verbier (Switzerland).
The seven-bedroom lodge (pictured above), jointly owned with Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, went on sale for £18.3 million earlier this year
According to some reports, the Prince allowed Rowlands to fit meetings in to his trade tours to expand their bank account and attract wealthy and powerful clients.
As the jury selection for the sex trafficking case begins, Andrew smiles and breaks through cover
Yesterday, Prince Andrew was seen hiding under cover as jury selection started in the US sex-trafficking case against his ex-friend Ghislaine Maxiwell.
Prince Andrew was seen near Windsor Castle, Berkshire. Maxwell trial jury selection will start later in today
The Duke and Duchess of York, aged 61, was photographed driving through Windsor’s royal gardens. He was also riding his horse.
These images were taken as jury selection in US for the trial of Ms Maxwell, his ex-friend and former friend.
A six week trial is underway for the 59-year old socialite, who faces charges that she and Jeffrey Epstein were involved in sex trading.
They also claimed that he had given them access to private documents from the government. Andrew was reported to have co-owned the Rowlands’ business in secretive Caribbean tax haven.
The Prince was believed to have used it to get his wealthy Royal friends to put their money into an offshore tax-free fund.
One email revealed that Rowland’s son and business lieutenant Jonathan suggested to Rowland that they could keep their commercial activities ‘under radar’ when the monarch was under threat of losing his position as Envoy due to the Jeffrey Epstein scam. Andrew replied: “I like your thinking.”
Rowland, the son of South London’s scrap metal dealer, is now one of the UK’s wealthiest men.
He was a property developer who made his first million when he listed his firm, Fordham on the Stock Exchange at age 23.
At the time he was nicknamed ‘Spotty’ because of his relative youth and lingering acne – and the nickname stuck.
He was often featured in media headlines for his business activities.
He was one of the first financiers to spot the potential money-making value of top soccer clubs, and was the secret figure behind the £800,000 takeover of Edinburgh Hibernian, parent company of Hibs football club in the Scottish capital, in 1987.
But the deal turned sour when the company went into receivership – after having asked thousands of fans to plough their money into the club.
Additionally, he also used one his trusts in order to purchase Chesterton estate agents, which later went into receivership following 200 years of trading.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, in 2019 he was worth over £650million. In 2009, his family founded Banque Hallivand.
He is a father of eight and lives in Hallivand Hall, Guernsey’s ‘tax haven island’. Prince Andrew was invited to his estate by Andrew in 2005, where he opened a bronze life-size statue of Rowland. He smoked a cigar.
Ms Maxwell (59) is currently in the midst of a trial for sex trafficking. Yesterday marked the beginning of the jury selection for the six week trial. Image: Yesterday’s court sketch
After further allegations emerged, Prince Andrew was forced to step back from his frontline duties as a royal in 2019. Epstein (pictured), who was awaiting his trial for sex trafficking, died while in prison.
Having built a huge business empire, Mr Rowland was a tax exile for more than 30 years but returned to the UK before the 2010 General Election so he could pump £2.7 million into the Tories’ campaign war chest.
He was running to be the Tory party treasurer in 2012, but he resigned shortly after. Due to his status as an exile tax payer, the move was heavily criticised.
In an earlier year, he was accused of being part in a global conspiracy to destroy the Qatari state.
Earlier this year it was said by a judge how Mr Rowland would not voluntarily allow access to email accounts that it is claimed could shed light on his bank’s alleged role in a conspiracy by some of the UK’s closest international allies to undermine the Gulf state by manipulating financial markets.
Qatar is suing the former Conservative treasurer’s Luxembourg bank, Banque Havilland, which was formally opened by the Duke of York. It strongly denied any involvement in any plot.
Jonathan Rowland (44), the second child of David from his two marriages and the entrepreneurial spirit that his father possessed, is now 44.
He left school at 16 but seized the opportunity of the dotcom boom of the late 1990s to make £42 million from an internet investment company called JellyWorks. In a matter of days, its shares rose by 2,000%.
With JellyBook, he tried again to replicate the 2011 success. At the Monaco Grand Prix in 2011, he launched his investment company by chartering a 161ft yacht equipped with Italian marble floors.
After Jonathan’s stroke, the business had to be shut down.