By Victoria Ward.
has been charged over allegedly using the name “Inverness” to set up a business.
The Australian Republic Movement, an anti-monarchy campaign group, accused the Duke of submitting false information.
had secretly established a confidential investment fund called “Andrew Inverness” to service deals arranged by Buckingham Palace.
The Duke was the owner of four related businesses registered at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under his name, and was described in official paperwork as a “consultant”.
On Monday, Graham Smith, the Republic chief ex-director, filed a complaint to the Metropolitan Police over the registration of Naples Gold Ltd, one of the companies. He claimed that the name used by the Duke, “Andrew Inverness”, was a false name, and that he’d made an error in listing a London address as his residential address.
Mr Smith said: “The royals seem to think they’re above the law, an impression strengthened by the fact that there’s been no action taken by the police against serious allegations of corruption and sex offences.”
The apparent lodging of misleading details with ASIC {Australian Securities & Investments Commission} might seem minor, but Australia’s dealing with some serious issues around fraud committed this way. Although no such fraud is implicated here, surely Andrew has to be held to the highest standards.
In 1986. But in deciding to formally register businesses under the name “Andrew Inverness”, he sparked worries that he was trying to sidestep scrutiny.
The first of his companies, called Urramoor Ltd, was set up in February 2013, 18 months after the Duke had his role as the UK’s trade ambassador taken away from him due to his ongoing connection with the late US businessman Jeffrey Epstein, who had been found guilty of having children indecently.
There’s hardly any info available to the public about Urramoor and there’s no website for the company. One investment firm – a joint venture between the US and South Africa – once partnered with them and described Urramoor as “the private investment office of HRH the Duke of York”.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE
Stay on top of celeb news, lifestyle updates and personal views thru our WhatsApp channel. No feedback, no detection by algorithms and your private info’ll stay private.
In another move, an application was lodged last week to deregister Urramoor Ltd from the records. The application was submitted days after the company’s latest financial reports were made public, showing it was now financially sound after securing almost $420,000 in funding from an unnamed backer 12 months ago.
The Duke is really in charge as “HRH Andrew Inverness”, having a fair dinkum grip on the company.
Two additional Urramoor companies, Urramoor Property Pty Ltd and Urramoor Hydrocarbons, which were jointly controlled with a Turkish business identity who made his fortune developing golf courses, have already been wound up.
Mr Smith said that as such “there must surely be a public interest in pursuing the matter when it’s such a high-profile bloke allegedly doing it”.
He pointed out: “We expect the coppers to chase this up without playing favourites – something they seem to have a dodgy track record with when it comes to the royals.”
A Met spokesperson said: “On Monday, January 6, the Met received a report linked to a filing at Companies House. This report will now be assessed to figure out if any further action is needed. At this early stage, there’s no investigation underway.”
The Duke’s representative has been asked to provide a statement.
Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited 2024
