Prince Andrew facing fresh questions about business dealings days after accuser Virginia Giuffre shock death
On Tuesday, the British public broadcaster uncovered that Andrew's defunct start up Pitch@Palace was secretly administered for two years by a firm controlled by the controversial millionaire Doug Barrowman.
Pitch@Palace was launched by the Duke of York in 2014 as a Shark Tank-style platform for UK entrepreneurs to match up with potential investors.
However, the venture was shuttered following the Duke of York's career-ending interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, in which he responded to sexual abuse claims brought by Virginia Giuffre.
The Duke of York has denied the allegations but settled a multi-million dollar civil claim with the Jeffrey Epstein victim in 2021.
Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked for sex to Andrew when she was just a teenager, took her own life last week at age 41.
Mr Barrowman has faced controversy in the UK after he was linked to a series of tax avoidance companies that may have assisted their clients in submitting misleading claims to the British tax office.
According to documents reviewed by the BBC, Pitch@Palace was held by Knox House Trustees (UK), which was controlled and ultimately owned by Mr Barrowman, from 2021 until 2023.
A lawyer for Mr Barrowman told the BBC said he "at no time... had any business or personal involvement with the duke".
Nevertheless, the revelation has shone fresh light on Andrew's complicated finances.
Earlier this year, The Duke of York reportedly agreed to a commercial agreement with a Dutch-based firm to commercially exploit contacts he made from his Pitch@Palace initiative.
Under the agreement, Andrew will reportedly be paid for each deal SBC strikes in territories worldwide, potentially earning him millions of pounds in total.
The deal was brokered last year around the time King Charles removed about £1 million ($1.9 million AUD) in annual funding from his brother and was seeking to evict the Yorks from Royal Lodge.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have continued to live together at Royal Lodge after reportedly agreeing to pay for the colossal home's upkeep out of their own pocket.
Royal author Andrew Lownie, who is currently working on a book about the Yorks' marriage, previously told SkyNews.com.au that Andrew's biggest scandal is 'financial rather than sexual'.
'(Andrew) now says he has sources of income that allow him to stay at Royal Lodge and he needs to come clean about what those sources of income are,' he said.
Mr Lownie's book will explore how the Duke and Duchess of York may have been compromised by other foreign powers, including during Andrew's time as a special representative for British trade.
'They're useful idiots for these people,' he said of the Yorks' possible value to foreign spies and businessmen.
'Andrew was receiving high level briefings on defence, until it was stopped.
'He was privy to a lot of sensitive information possibly connected to national security, not least from his time in the navy.' NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE?
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