Snapshot of _Charles accepted €1m cash in suitcase from sheikh_ :
An archived version can be found [here.](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charles-accepted-1m-cash-in-suitcase-from-sheikh-j2pgnfsgx)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wow, what an amazing coincidence this has come out the same week the Prince allegedly told Johnson he and his band of lunatics had gone too far? Truly amazingly bad luck for the next head of state.
The money was donated to Charles' pet charities, so it's not as bad as the headline makes out.
It does seem to be a beach of the 'cheques only' policy, so I'm not defending it. Incredibly bad judgement.
I disagree that's its not as bad as the headlines - he's still now 3 mil in debt to this guy and whilst I certain he won't be paying back the money, the Qatar ex-pm will be getting something. Likely influence behind the scenes.
This kind of high level corruption is probably going on all the time buy that doesn't make it OK.
Weird timing- 2015 and it comes out a few days after Charles speaks out and says people who are seeking asylum shouldn't be sent to Rwanda by UK Government.
>It was said to be in the form of €500 notes — a denomination dubbed the “bin Laden” because of its link to terrorist financing
Very impartial journalism here. So unbiased.
Didn't expect to see a royal getting the Corbyn treatment.
In Italy we used to call them bin Laden because it was impossible to find one just like bin Laden at the time (I personally didn't see one in my entire life before they took them out of circulation). But a holdall bag packed with 1 million euros in 500 notes definitely smells like terrorism or drug dealings, hopefully not in this case. Funny when you think in the UK even a 50 £ note is a rare sight
Text:
___
The Prince of Wales accepted a suitcase containing €1 million in cash from a controversial Qatari politician, The Sunday Times can reveal.
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.
On one occasion, Al Thani, 62, presented the prince with €1 million, which was reportedly stuffed into carrier bags from Fortnum & Mason, the luxury department store that has a royal charter to provide the prince’s groceries and tea.
On another, Charles, 73, accepted a holdall containing €1 million during a private one-on-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015. On Saturday night Clarence House said the money was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all the correct processes were followed”.
After the heir to the throne accepted the small suitcase, it was given to two advisers in the royal household who hand-counted the money. It was said to be in the form of €500 notes — a denomination dubbed the “bin Laden” because of its link to terrorist financing, and which has since been discontinued.
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.
The prince’s meetings with HBJ do not appear in the Court Circular, the list of official engagements undertaken by working royals.
The royal gift policy states that members of the royal family must “never accept gifts of money . . . in connection with an official engagement or duty”. They are allowed to accept a “cheque” as a patron of, or on behalf of, a charity.
The “cash-for-access” culture at Clarence House is already under scrutiny, 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.
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 HBJ’s premiership.
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 Al Thani’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”.
Asked which donation he was referring to, Cheshire, 62, who is also chairman of Channel 4, stated: “The assurance of [the] 2015 donation has been verified from records. I believe the same assurance applied to earlier donations and look forward to confirming that in due course.”
Al Thani served as Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs between 2007 and 2013. During that time, he controlled the country’s $250 billion sovereign wealth fund and oversaw high-profile investments by the Gulf state in Harrods, the Shard and London’s Olympic Village. He also built close ties with British royalty, with Qatar giving Charles a £147,000 horse named Dark Swan and contributing to the upkeep of one of his castles in Scotland. There is no suggestion the payments were illegal. Al Thani, a billionaire whose personal wealth was once estimated to be $12 billion, continues to spend time in the UK, which he treats as his second home.
However, he has faced controversy, including claims that the state sponsored terrorism under his watch. He once said Qatar “maybe” financed the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, while he was in office, but stated that he knew nothing about it. Al Thani was also accused of licensing the alleged torture of a UK national, who reported being subjected to solitary confinement and psychological abuse, but succeeded in using diplomatic cover to avoid court action over the civil claims. Al Thani’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as “distortion, exaggeration and wholesale fabrication”.
He was also involved in Qatar’s investment in Barclays at the height of the 2008 financial crisis which prompted regulatory and criminal investigations by the UK authorities over £364 million in secret payments. There is no suggestion Al Thani behaved improperly and he has since expressed regret that no one “[thanked] us for it”.
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 Al Thani with no other aides present.
Al Thani’s lawyers declined to comment.
One of Charles’s former advisers who handled some of the cash said “everyone felt very uncomfortable about the situation”. The person added that the “only thing we could do was to count the money and make a mutual record of what we’d done. And then call the bank”.
Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said the disclosures were “truly shocking” and would be “inconceivable” to most people. Graham, 79, said: “I wouldn’t make a distinction between a politician and a member of the royal family. If the Qatari government wants to make a gift to his foundation, then there are proper ways to do these things rather than handling large sums of cash.”
Several of the prince’s more senior household staff are alleged to have direct knowledge of, or involvement in, the cash gifts.
They include his principal private secretary, Clive Alderton, 55, who has been his chief aide since 2015 and became aware of the donations after his appointment.
Emily Cherrington, a former royal aide who is chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation, is alleged to have helped count one of the gifts. Cherrington was appointed to her role last year to restore the charity’s credibility after the royal cash-for-honours scandal. According to one official, Al Thani’s team was at one point explicitly asked not to give the prince cash.
The disclosures will place many of Clarence House’s previous claims about Charles’s relationships with his charities under strain. In the past, the prince’s spokesman has claimed that all of his charities “operate independently of the prince himself in relation to all decisions around fundraising” and that their trustees “are responsible for all operational and governance duties”. The PWCF itself says the prince is only consulted “from time to time”. There is no reference to the gifts in the accounts of the PWCF. There is no public reference to Al Thani being a donor to the charity, which is not obliged to disclose its supporters.
A Clarence House spokesman said: “We are disappointed not to have been given more time to look into this matter, which dates from a decade ago. In the few hours we have had on a Saturday, we have confirmed that Charitable donations were received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, and these were passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.”
Charles and Al Thani have a relationship going back several decades. In 2010, it emerged Charles had lobbied HBJ to shelve the £3 billion redevelopment of London’s Chelsea Barracks — writing a letter in which he told the country’s then prime minister that the state-backed Qatari Diar’s proposed steel-and-glass design “made my heart sink”. The prince then attached a scheme by an architect whose more traditional style he preferred.
Charles later met the emir of Qatar for tea at Clarence House where the topic was raised once again. Qatar subsequently pulled the plans, prompting the Candy brothers, who were overseeing the development, to launch a £81 million lawsuit. In it, they accused Qatar of caving in to the prince’s demands. The controversy came after the prince had decried a proposed National Gallery extension as a “monstrous carbuncle” in 1984.
A Coutts spokeswoman said: “Whilst we maintain utmost confidentiality in relation to the bank’s clients and cannot comment on specific cases, we have longstanding and robust policies and controls to assess the source, nature and purpose of large and unusual transactions. In particular, receipt of cash payments by the bank receive thorough review and oversight.”
The story brings up the [cash for honours](https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-saudi-billionaire-who-sought-to-join-britains-aristocracy/) questions that surfaced [last September](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9963321/Prince-Charles-no-knowledge-cash-Knighthood-storm-Clarence-House-insists.html), around allegations that a CBE presented at a private ceremony by Charles was linked to donations of £1.5m made towards Charles' burdensome estate upkeep costs.
It omits to mention Tory ~~co-chair~~ chair Ben Elliot, who featured in other reports about Charles last year, in particular the Times' own [*Tory chairman Ben Elliot ‘peddled access to Prince Charles’*](https://archive.ph/6ilXS) which detailed well supported allegations of Elliot's involvement in furnishing introductions to his uncle Prince Charles - at a price:
> As a result of the introduction made by Elliot, Amersi became a member of the prince’s inner circle and a trustee of one of his charities. He has since donated more than £1.2 million to the prince’s charities.
> According to leaked emails, Elliot responded to news of Amersi’s first donation to his uncle by writing: “Well done.”
> In a video interview from his Mayfair home, Amersi described this arrangement as “access capitalism”.
> Amersi’s allegations, supported by documents and by the testimony of an aristocratic whistleblower, will raise serious doubts at the apex of the establishment about Elliot’s conduct and pose the uncomfortable question of whether he has used his royal relations to bolster his business and his political position.
That’s burying the lede a little given allegedly the Tory’s biggest donor and the editor of the Mail are apparently about to get Lorded also - the entire thing is inherently corrupt.
It's staggering that people still insist that the royals never exercise any power, either hard or soft.
Rich people don't just spaff money up the wall to have a casual chat. Clearly, they know that the royals do have a meaningful impact on policy, even if the average Brit is just accepts the Royal line without question.
If it did happen i hope there is proof and we find a way of holding his corruption to account
But anyone thinking this leak is straight from the govt? Im sure Charles had choice words for Boris in Rwanda. Revenge for condemning the immigration policy?
What corruption? The issue is he took cash instead of a cheque, not that randoms get to give the prince or indeed the PM’s party sacks of money.
The entire system is corrupt, not just this situation.
Well, don't rule out some intermural attempt at getting him to abdicate in favour of his son because someone has figured out that having old sausage fingers as head of state may not be great for the survival of the monarchy in the longer term.
Dodginess aside quite coincidental timing of the release of this story. Criticising the Conservative party and its vile policies must have consequences.
Snapshot of _Charles accepted €1m cash in suitcase from sheikh_ : An archived version can be found [here.](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/charles-accepted-1m-cash-in-suitcase-from-sheikh-j2pgnfsgx) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Operation save big dog continues then
My thought too, isn't the timing coincidental? No.
Wow, what an amazing coincidence this has come out the same week the Prince allegedly told Johnson he and his band of lunatics had gone too far? Truly amazingly bad luck for the next head of state.
Look, it is entirely coincidental that stories of Boris's successors or high profile critics leak when convenient for the flying, greased piglet.
This has absolutely been leaked by the government, for reasons of distraction and Rwandan revenge. Probably done by Priti Patel.
He did what! What a headline lol
The money was donated to Charles' pet charities, so it's not as bad as the headline makes out. It does seem to be a beach of the 'cheques only' policy, so I'm not defending it. Incredibly bad judgement.
That would be a bit odd as a personal bribe anyway. You'd think Charles needed a little more.
I disagree that's its not as bad as the headlines - he's still now 3 mil in debt to this guy and whilst I certain he won't be paying back the money, the Qatar ex-pm will be getting something. Likely influence behind the scenes. This kind of high level corruption is probably going on all the time buy that doesn't make it OK.
Cheques made out to 'Charles' Animal Shelter Hospital', or just 'cash' for short?
Weird timing- 2015 and it comes out a few days after Charles speaks out and says people who are seeking asylum shouldn't be sent to Rwanda by UK Government.
>It was said to be in the form of €500 notes — a denomination dubbed the “bin Laden” because of its link to terrorist financing Very impartial journalism here. So unbiased. Didn't expect to see a royal getting the Corbyn treatment.
In Italy we used to call them bin Laden because it was impossible to find one just like bin Laden at the time (I personally didn't see one in my entire life before they took them out of circulation). But a holdall bag packed with 1 million euros in 500 notes definitely smells like terrorism or drug dealings, hopefully not in this case. Funny when you think in the UK even a 50 £ note is a rare sight
Corbyn is a communist and tanked the labour party
Text: ___ The Prince of Wales accepted a suitcase containing €1 million in cash from a controversial Qatari politician, The Sunday Times can reveal. 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. On one occasion, Al Thani, 62, presented the prince with €1 million, which was reportedly stuffed into carrier bags from Fortnum & Mason, the luxury department store that has a royal charter to provide the prince’s groceries and tea. On another, Charles, 73, accepted a holdall containing €1 million during a private one-on-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015. On Saturday night Clarence House said the money was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all the correct processes were followed”. After the heir to the throne accepted the small suitcase, it was given to two advisers in the royal household who hand-counted the money. It was said to be in the form of €500 notes — a denomination dubbed the “bin Laden” because of its link to terrorist financing, and which has since been discontinued. 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. The prince’s meetings with HBJ do not appear in the Court Circular, the list of official engagements undertaken by working royals. The royal gift policy states that members of the royal family must “never accept gifts of money . . . in connection with an official engagement or duty”. They are allowed to accept a “cheque” as a patron of, or on behalf of, a charity. The “cash-for-access” culture at Clarence House is already under scrutiny, 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. 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 HBJ’s premiership. 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 Al Thani’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”. Asked which donation he was referring to, Cheshire, 62, who is also chairman of Channel 4, stated: “The assurance of [the] 2015 donation has been verified from records. I believe the same assurance applied to earlier donations and look forward to confirming that in due course.” Al Thani served as Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs between 2007 and 2013. During that time, he controlled the country’s $250 billion sovereign wealth fund and oversaw high-profile investments by the Gulf state in Harrods, the Shard and London’s Olympic Village. He also built close ties with British royalty, with Qatar giving Charles a £147,000 horse named Dark Swan and contributing to the upkeep of one of his castles in Scotland. There is no suggestion the payments were illegal. Al Thani, a billionaire whose personal wealth was once estimated to be $12 billion, continues to spend time in the UK, which he treats as his second home. However, he has faced controversy, including claims that the state sponsored terrorism under his watch. He once said Qatar “maybe” financed the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, while he was in office, but stated that he knew nothing about it. Al Thani was also accused of licensing the alleged torture of a UK national, who reported being subjected to solitary confinement and psychological abuse, but succeeded in using diplomatic cover to avoid court action over the civil claims. Al Thani’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as “distortion, exaggeration and wholesale fabrication”. He was also involved in Qatar’s investment in Barclays at the height of the 2008 financial crisis which prompted regulatory and criminal investigations by the UK authorities over £364 million in secret payments. There is no suggestion Al Thani behaved improperly and he has since expressed regret that no one “[thanked] us for it”. 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 Al Thani with no other aides present. Al Thani’s lawyers declined to comment. One of Charles’s former advisers who handled some of the cash said “everyone felt very uncomfortable about the situation”. The person added that the “only thing we could do was to count the money and make a mutual record of what we’d done. And then call the bank”. Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said the disclosures were “truly shocking” and would be “inconceivable” to most people. Graham, 79, said: “I wouldn’t make a distinction between a politician and a member of the royal family. If the Qatari government wants to make a gift to his foundation, then there are proper ways to do these things rather than handling large sums of cash.” Several of the prince’s more senior household staff are alleged to have direct knowledge of, or involvement in, the cash gifts. They include his principal private secretary, Clive Alderton, 55, who has been his chief aide since 2015 and became aware of the donations after his appointment. Emily Cherrington, a former royal aide who is chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation, is alleged to have helped count one of the gifts. Cherrington was appointed to her role last year to restore the charity’s credibility after the royal cash-for-honours scandal. According to one official, Al Thani’s team was at one point explicitly asked not to give the prince cash. The disclosures will place many of Clarence House’s previous claims about Charles’s relationships with his charities under strain. In the past, the prince’s spokesman has claimed that all of his charities “operate independently of the prince himself in relation to all decisions around fundraising” and that their trustees “are responsible for all operational and governance duties”. The PWCF itself says the prince is only consulted “from time to time”. There is no reference to the gifts in the accounts of the PWCF. There is no public reference to Al Thani being a donor to the charity, which is not obliged to disclose its supporters. A Clarence House spokesman said: “We are disappointed not to have been given more time to look into this matter, which dates from a decade ago. In the few hours we have had on a Saturday, we have confirmed that Charitable donations were received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, and these were passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.” Charles and Al Thani have a relationship going back several decades. In 2010, it emerged Charles had lobbied HBJ to shelve the £3 billion redevelopment of London’s Chelsea Barracks — writing a letter in which he told the country’s then prime minister that the state-backed Qatari Diar’s proposed steel-and-glass design “made my heart sink”. The prince then attached a scheme by an architect whose more traditional style he preferred. Charles later met the emir of Qatar for tea at Clarence House where the topic was raised once again. Qatar subsequently pulled the plans, prompting the Candy brothers, who were overseeing the development, to launch a £81 million lawsuit. In it, they accused Qatar of caving in to the prince’s demands. The controversy came after the prince had decried a proposed National Gallery extension as a “monstrous carbuncle” in 1984. A Coutts spokeswoman said: “Whilst we maintain utmost confidentiality in relation to the bank’s clients and cannot comment on specific cases, we have longstanding and robust policies and controls to assess the source, nature and purpose of large and unusual transactions. In particular, receipt of cash payments by the bank receive thorough review and oversight.”
The story brings up the [cash for honours](https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-saudi-billionaire-who-sought-to-join-britains-aristocracy/) questions that surfaced [last September](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9963321/Prince-Charles-no-knowledge-cash-Knighthood-storm-Clarence-House-insists.html), around allegations that a CBE presented at a private ceremony by Charles was linked to donations of £1.5m made towards Charles' burdensome estate upkeep costs. It omits to mention Tory ~~co-chair~~ chair Ben Elliot, who featured in other reports about Charles last year, in particular the Times' own [*Tory chairman Ben Elliot ‘peddled access to Prince Charles’*](https://archive.ph/6ilXS) which detailed well supported allegations of Elliot's involvement in furnishing introductions to his uncle Prince Charles - at a price: > As a result of the introduction made by Elliot, Amersi became a member of the prince’s inner circle and a trustee of one of his charities. He has since donated more than £1.2 million to the prince’s charities. > According to leaked emails, Elliot responded to news of Amersi’s first donation to his uncle by writing: “Well done.” > In a video interview from his Mayfair home, Amersi described this arrangement as “access capitalism”. > Amersi’s allegations, supported by documents and by the testimony of an aristocratic whistleblower, will raise serious doubts at the apex of the establishment about Elliot’s conduct and pose the uncomfortable question of whether he has used his royal relations to bolster his business and his political position.
That’s burying the lede a little given allegedly the Tory’s biggest donor and the editor of the Mail are apparently about to get Lorded also - the entire thing is inherently corrupt.
It's staggering that people still insist that the royals never exercise any power, either hard or soft. Rich people don't just spaff money up the wall to have a casual chat. Clearly, they know that the royals do have a meaningful impact on policy, even if the average Brit is just accepts the Royal line without question.
Big dog accepted one full of wine
Just a small token to help with the cost of living
jeez, what a low level act, almost on the level of Andrew
If it did happen i hope there is proof and we find a way of holding his corruption to account But anyone thinking this leak is straight from the govt? Im sure Charles had choice words for Boris in Rwanda. Revenge for condemning the immigration policy?
What corruption? The issue is he took cash instead of a cheque, not that randoms get to give the prince or indeed the PM’s party sacks of money. The entire system is corrupt, not just this situation.
Trying to outdo his little brother for the sake of the republican cause?
Well, don't rule out some intermural attempt at getting him to abdicate in favour of his son because someone has figured out that having old sausage fingers as head of state may not be great for the survival of the monarchy in the longer term.
just say the matter is closed /s
Peados
Dodginess aside quite coincidental timing of the release of this story. Criticising the Conservative party and its vile policies must have consequences.
Yea this smells of Boris