A High Court judge has given a former Goldman Sachs banker permission to seek evidence from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, in a fraud case that is not about the royal himself. Mr Justice Johnson ruled that fairness required it.
The banker is Selman Turk, who denies every allegation against him. His lawyers believe Mountbatten-Windsor can help confirm Turk’s version of events and applied to call him, even though he is expected to be a reluctant witness.
What the judge said
“Given the seriousness of the allegations, both on their own terms and in light of their wider impact, fairness requires that Mr Turk should be afforded an opportunity of putting forward his own case,” the judge wrote, “using the evidence he considers relevant and material.”
He also made a finding on probabilities. Had Mountbatten-Windsor been asked, he would have declined to give a witness statement. It was “highly unlikely”, the judge said, that someone in his position would volunteer to give evidence in public proceedings about payments made by the wife of a person said to be a political prisoner in Turkey.
The ruling gives Turk permission to seek to call him, not a summons in itself. In practice, the judge said, that will likely mean a witness summons, which needs no further permission from the court if it is issued more than seven days before the trial starts. The trial is due to begin in the week of November 16.
The Isbilen case
The claimant is Nebahat Isbilen, 81, an elderly Turkish millionairess. She alleges that Turk, her former adviser, misled her over payments made to the then prince and his family in 2019, and that he stole millions from her after she fled Turkey for the UK. Turk had won an award at Pitch@Palace, Andrew’s Dragons’ Den-style initiative.
The payments at issue were arranged by Turk: £350,000 to Andrew, £225,000 to the Duchess of York, £25,000 to Princess Eugenie and a £750,000 “gift” for Princess Beatrice’s wedding. No wrongdoing by the Yorks has been suggested. They reached an agreement with Mrs Isbilen in 2023 to repay her an undisclosed amount, and the court heard that year of a “settlement” with the then duke and duchess.
Her lawyers have told the court that tens of millions of her funds were misappropriated and that Turk never explained where the money went. They have also said money went to “purposes unconnected with Mrs Isbilen”, including substantial sums to Andrew and to Sarah, Duchess of York.
Sources
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Photo: The wub (CC BY-SA 4.0)
