Prince Charles met a wealthy Russian businessman and received donations from unknown sources?

As the first heir to the British throne, Prince Charles has waited for more than 60 years to succeed. Compared to the Queen, his life is not that busy, but he is particularly enthusiastic about charity.

However, something seems to have gone wrong with Prince Charles’s charitable foundation these past two days.

The non-governmental investigative organization "Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project" (OCCRP) and the Lithuanian news website 15min recently obtained 1.3 million pieces of confidential bank transaction information and shared this information with the BBC, The Guardian and other media.

According to the Guardian, bank transfer records show that Prince Charles’s “Prince’s Charitable Fund” received large donations from wealthy Russian businessman Ruben Vardanyan, totaling approximately $200,000.

Vardanyan

Vardanyan is the former chairman of the Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. He and Prince Charles have been old friends for nearly 10 years, and he is also one of the important "funders" of Prince Charles' charity fund.

Russian investment bank Troika Dialog manages a vast network involving 70 overseas companies, which are currently under investigation for allegedly participating in money laundering and bringing $4.6 billion into Europe and the United States.

Russian investment bank Troika Dialog

The report pointed out that the donation received by Prince Charles from Vardanyan did not come from his personal account, nor from Troika Dialog Bank, but from the account of a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, which is one of the overseas companies under investigation. one.

Is there something wrong with the donations accepted by The Prince Charles Charitable Fund? What is his little-known relationship with Russian businessmen?

Prince Charles “connected” with a wealthy Russian businessman

For more than 40 years, Prince Charles has used his appeal to call on countless rich and famous people in the world to join philanthropic undertakings. He himself founded a number of charity projects such as the "Prince's Trust", "The Prince's Charitable Fund" and "The Prince's Rainforest Plan".

According to celebrity charity information network look to the stars, Prince Charles supports as many as 15 charitable organizations and foundations, among which the "Prince Charitable Foundation" mainly focuses on the protection of historical buildings.

Charity projects supported by Prince Charles

According to the Guardian, in 2007, the owner of Dumfries House in Glasgow decided to sell the house and auctioned more than 50 pieces of furniture from Thomas Chippendale, the "father of European furniture" . In order to protect the architectural heritage and prevent precious furniture from leaving other countries, Prince Charles raised 45 million pounds and bought the manor.

Prince Charles at Dumfries Estate

However, Prince Charles' move burdened the "Prince's Charitable Foundation" with a loan of 20 million pounds, and had to find ways to raise funds.

In November 2009, a group of wealthy Russian businessmen visited Dumfries Manor and attended a formal dinner hosted by Prince Charles. Vardanyan, then chairman of the Russian investment bank Troika Dialog, was among them.

Vardanyan meets Prince Charles for the first time

Vardanyan is an Armenian who has many industries in Russia. In the 1990s, he controlled the investment bank Troika Dialog. He and his partners resold it for US$1 billion after 20 years of business. He also founded the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO (SKOLKOVO) and launched the PHILIN project to provide infrastructure support for Russian NGOs. Vardanyan was selected as one of the "100 Future Global Leaders" selected by the World Economic Forum.

Vardanyan donated $100,000 to the Prince's Charitable Fund after meeting Prince Charles for the first time in 2009. Bank records show that from 2009 to 2011, Vardanyan made three donations to the foundation, totaling approximately $200,000. Vardanyan said the donations were to support the preservation of Britain's architectural heritage.

Suspiciously, Vardanyan’s donation to Prince Charles’ charity fund was made using the account of the shell company Quantus Division and was remitted through Lithuanian bank Ukio Bancas. He said that these financial transactions were all handled by the office and he was not aware of them.

However, bank transaction records show that Quantus Division wired $500,000 to Vardanyan's American Express credit card.

In February 2010, Prince Charles hosted a banquet for some senior Armenian officials at Windsor Castle. In 2013, Armenia invited Prince Charles for a private visit, with the expenses borne by overseas companies managed by Vardanyan.

A spokesman for Lawrence Palace said that Prince Charles himself was not involved in the fund-raising decisions of the "Prince's Charitable Fund". The foundation issued a statement saying that it has always complied with relevant laws and regulations, and no illegal operations were found during the review of suspicious donations reported by the media.

The road to philanthropy accompanied by controversy

Prince Charles is widely praised for his philanthropic contributions, but his charity work also brings him into contact with all kinds of people. Charles's father, Prince Philip, once accused his son of allowing wealthy people to spend money to gain access to him, damaging the public's trust in the royal family.

Prince Philip

According to the Times, Prince Charles was accidentally embroiled in a scandal after accepting charitable donations from wealthy Turkish businessmen.

In 2000, the Turkish telecommunications giant Telsim urgently hoped to enter the British market. In order to achieve this goal, its operator Uzan donated 400,000 pounds to the foundation named under Prince Charles's name within two years, successfully attracting Charles' attention.

Uzan, operator of Telsim

In 2001, the Uzans were invited to dine with Prince Charles and Camilla in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, and their photo together made many British media headlines.

In 2003, the company run by Uzan was accused of commercial fraud in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2004, the Turkish government seized more than 200 companies belonging to the Uzan Group. The incident has cast a shadow on Prince Charles's public image.

A senior official of the British royal family revealed that after the Uzan incident, the royal family learned a lesson, eliminated suspicious sources of donations, and at the same time strengthened protection against unidentified people who tried to get close to the royal family members.

However, this incident has not stopped wealthy people from all over the world from rushing to "make friends" with Prince Charles, while Prince Charles still spares no effort in charity.

Beijing News reporter Chen Qinhan Huang Zhongfangchen editor Yu Yin