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It was one of three lots of cash, totalling €3 million, which Prince Charles personally received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar who is nicknamed “HBJ”, between 2011 and 2015.
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Palace aides then asked Coutts to collect the cash. The private bank, which is headquartered in the Strand in central London, and has served the royal family for centuries, is understood to have retrieved the suitcase from Charles’s London residence.
Each payment was deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF), a low-profile grant-making entity which bankrolls the prince’s pet projects and his country estate in Scotland. There is no suggestion the payments were illegal.
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There are questions over a “cash-for-access” culture at Clarence House, with the Metropolitan Police and Charity Commission investigating fundraising practices, including the sale of honours. Last year The Sunday Times reported that Michael Fawcett, Charles’s closest confidant, fixed an honour for a Saudi billionaire. There is no evidence the sheikh did not intend the monies to go to the charity and Sheikh Hamad did not comment on Saturday.
However, the new revelations will raise serious questions about the personal judgment of the heir to the throne — including how much he knew, what he asked about the cash, and his impartiality in representing Britain on the world stage. Charles is regularly tasked with communicating the country’s foreign policy and position on issues such as human rights during official overseas visits. He visited Qatar repeatedly after accepting the cash, including during Sheikh Hamad’s premiership.
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The cash also poses questions about the governance of Charles’s flagship charity. Trustees have a legal duty to protect a charity’s reputation. One of the trustees of the PWCF at the time said they had no knowledge of Sheikh Hamad’s gifts.
The PWCF was approached on Friday evening. Sir Ian Cheshire, its chairman, stated: “At a few hours’ notice from The Sunday Times, we have checked into this event in the past, and confirm that the previous trustees of PWCF discussed the governance and donor relationship, (confirming that the donor was a legitimate and verified counterparty) and our auditors signed off on the donation after a specific enquiry during the audit. There was no failure of governance”. He confirmed the latest donation was given in cash. He said: “The donation was made in cash and that was the donor’s choice.”
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Charles typically meets foreign dignitaries in sessions attended by a private secretary who can take minutes, follow up on any sensitive matters and forward relevant information to government bodies such as the Foreign Office. But the future king met Sheikh Hamad with no other aides present.
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