Charles was reported and may have been questioned by the police
Yesterday, British Prince Andrew just announced a settlement on the sexual assault case, triggering public controversy, less than 24 hours, the British royal family has dropped a bombshell: Crown Prince Charles was involved in a criminal investigation.
The British police said on the 16th that an investigation was officially launched into Prince Charles's charity "Prince Foundation".
The investigation was linked to a sensational British media report last September that a wealthy Saudi had donated money to the Prince's Foundation in exchange for British citizenship and titles.
On the basis of the report, a whistleblower letter was handed over to the British police, in which the names of Charles and a former aide close to him were explicitly mentioned.
The police statement said that after receiving the whistleblower letter, the special investigation team had conducted an assessment. After reviewing the documents and available information, the police determined that an investigation into the Foundation's alleged violations under the Honors (Prevention of Abuse) Act 1925 was initiated. No arrests or interrogations have been made.
In response, Clarence Palace, which represents Prince Charles, said that Charles was not aware of the matter. The Foundation will fully cooperate with the investigation.
Despite this, some British media believe that Charles is inseparable from this suspected illegal act. Because not only were Charles's men accused of secretly brokering the deal, But Charles himself had close personal ties with the Saudi billionaires involved.
Prince Charles not only met him privately in Saudi Arabia, London, and Scotland, but also wrote him "thank-you letters" and gave him gifts. In short, in the process of the Saudi rich man obtaining medals and citizenship, Charles was everywhere.
Prince Charles is involved in money transactions
So, what happened to this money transaction, and how did it relate to Charles?
It is reported that one of the protagonists of the suspected money transaction is the 52-year-old Saudi real estate tycoon Bin Mahfouz.
Although already a billionaire, he has a dream wish – to earn British knighthood and British citizenship.
In order to realize this dream, he became the financier of Charles's charity and the Royal Manor Renovation Project since 2013, at the recommendation of an intermediary. And in the face of the generous gold lord, Charles did not slacken off.
Timelines compiled by British media show that in May 2013, a month after Mahfords offered to be awarded the Order of the Order of the People's Republic of China (MBE) and citizenship, he was introduced to the chairman of the Castle of Mey Trust, Prince Charles's Scottish residence.
He immediately donated £20,000. Charles then personally took him on a tour of the castle and held a private meeting at Clarence Palace.
Mahfouz gradually realized that the deeper the "friendship" with the prince, the more personal honors he had. So he slowly became one of the biggest financiers of the "Prince Foundation". Over the years, a total of more than £1.5 million has been donated and significant sums of money have been donated to several of Charles's refurbishment projects.
And the courtesy he received in the royal family seems to be getting higher and higher.
Inside the Royal Residence Dumfries Manor, there is a garden and fountain named after Mahevuz, and there is even a forest named after him in May's Castle, called Mahffords Forest.
In 2015, Charles met with Mahfouz at the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
In 2016, he was personally awarded the Order of Command (CBE) by Prince Charles at a private ceremony.
Not only that, Charles was also exposed by the British media that he had written a "thank-you letter" to the gold lord Mahfords. This brings us to another key figure – Charles's right-hand man, Michael Fawcett.
Fawcett was Charles's personal assistant for more than 40 years and was deeply trusted by him. Charles once said he didn't need anyone but Fawcett. Previously, Fawcett had been forced to resign twice on charges of bullying employees and selling unneeded gifts to the royal family, but was retained by Charles.
Fawcett is also believed to be an intermediary between Mahevuz's "purchase" of knighthood and British citizenship, having been in correspondence with Mahevuz's intermediaries since 2014 and repeatedly mentioning Prince Charles' support.
In April 2014, Fawcett wrote, "His Royal Highness Prince (Charles) supports these applications 100 percent, as there is no greater example than your contribution, and therefore should be rewarded and recognized accordingly." ”
August 2017: Fawcett said the Prince's Foundation would "willingly and willingly" use its influence to help Mafford obtain knighthood and British citizenship.
After the incident came to light, Fawcett was forced to resign as the foundation's chief executive in November. The charity then published an internal investigation that concluded that he had worked with "middlemen" to fight for the Saudi financier's honor.
A spokesman for Prince Charles at the time flatly denied it, saying the prince was unaware of it. This is the same response of the royal family after the police announced the investigation into the matter.
Although Charles tried his best to clear up the relationship, in view of Charles's close relationship with Fawcett, many public opinions in Britain believed that Charles could not be unaware. He is therefore likely to be a key witness in the matter and be questioned by the police.
It is also worth mentioning that the British media said that Charles's son Prince Harry may also be questioned by the police.
The Times revealed last year that Harry met with Saudi billionaire Mahfords at a bar in Chelsea, London, in 2013 and discussed Sentebale, a charity set up by Prince Harry in South Africa.
At that time, Prince Harry's spokesman immediately issued a rare response saying that Prince Harry had cut ties with him.
In response, former Metropolitan Detective Sergeant Steve Morris said: "There is no doubt that both Prince Charles and Prince Harry should be questioned. Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal journalist, said, "If the police are to give credibility to an investigation, they must treat them equally." ”
#"Flash hour" theme essay issue 2 #