London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Dec 14, 2025

Duchess of York linked to further payment in court case

Duchess of York linked to further payment in court case

The latest steps in a Turkish millionaire's fraud claim have linked a further payment to the Duchess of York.

Court documents show lawyers of Nebahat Isbilen have updated who they claim received her assets, in allegations against business adviser Selman Turk.

This suggests the Duchess of York could have received a further £20,000, in addition to £225,000 and more than £1m paid to her ex-husband Prince Andrew.

Mr Turk has denied the allegations of misusing Mrs Isbilen's money.

There are no suggestions of wrongdoing against the Duke or Duchess of York or their family.

'Brand ambassador'


This complex case before the High Court in London revolves around claims that 77-year-old Mrs Isbilen has been the victim of "systematic fraud".

She has accused Mr Turk of having "dishonestly misappropriated" about £38m of her assets.

Peters and Peters, the law firm representing Mrs Isbilen, have updated details of where they claim some of her money was directed by Mr Turk, clarifying a confusion over similarly-named businesses.

Court papers say it now "appears likely" that a payment, previously identified as £20,000, was to a business "connected with Sarah, Duchess of York".

A source close to the duchess said the £20,000 was for her advisory role with Alphabet Capital, the firm which had made the payment.

Alphabet Capital is claimed in court papers as being used by Mr Turk to make payments - but a source close to the duchess said she was unaware of any link with Mr Turk.

Court papers also show Alphabet Capital as the route for the duchess receiving £225,000.

Prince Andrew has returned £750,000


It is understood the Duchess of York is not planning to repay the £225,000, because this was to cover her work as a brand ambassador for a US solar energy company.

The duchess is understood to have wanted to be paid in a single payment by the US firm, rather than in instalments - and Mr Turk stepped in to forward the full amount.

A spokesman for the Duchess of York said: "The duchess was completely unaware of the allegations that have since emerged against Mr Turk. She is naturally concerned by what has been alleged against him."

£750,000 paid back


Court documents also show claims of payments to her daughter Princess Eugenie, with about £15,000 referenced as a "birthday gift", and another payment of £10,000.

Prince Andrew is claimed to have received £350,000 through Alphabet Capital.

And he has repaid a separate payment of £750,000 given to him directly by Mrs Isbilen on 15 November 2019.

Princess Beatrice was named in the financial court case


Mrs Isbilen says she was misled into believing the £750,000 was for help with a passport. She also claims Mr Turk had explained the payment to her bank as a "wedding gift" for Princess Beatrice.

But Mr Turk says the money for Prince Andrew was paid by Mrs Isbilen "on her own initiative" and not under his direction.

Mrs Isbilen's lawyer Jonathan Tickner said Prince Andrew was contacted in March 2021 requesting an account of his dealings with Mr Turk.

"Prince Andrew declined to provide any such account but ...repaid Mrs Isbilen the sum of £750,000," said Mr Tickner.

Prince Andrew's representatives have declined to comment on the ongoing court case.

The week before the £750,000 was paid, Mr Turk's bank business, Heyman AI, had received an award at the Pitch at the Palace business event, headed by Prince Andrew, with Mr Turk and the prince appearing on stage at the awards.

The court papers report Mrs Isbilen's claim that Mr Turk also attended a charity event that week hosted by Prince Andrew at St James's Palace, at which Mr Turk "sought to promote his UK banking business".

But this prize-winning business also seems to have been funded by Mrs Isbilen, who says her assets were being used "without my knowledge or consent".

She claims millions were taken from her accounts and transferred via other companies, including an offshore firm linked to Mr Turk, to pay for Heyman AI.

But Mr Turk says Mrs Isbilen voluntarily offered to support his Heyman AI business, offering him a loan of £4m at 0% interest, although he says he convinced her to accept some interest.

The business went into liquidation and court papers note that "all of the money appears to have been spent".

Moving assets


Mrs Isbilen is from a wealthy Turkish business family, but when her politician husband was jailed she wanted help moving her assets out of Turkey.

The claim before the High Court is that Mr Turk misused his role as business adviser, with her lawyers saying she had a limited grasp of English and had entrusted "almost total control" of her finances to Mr Turk.

But Mr Turk rejects any claim of deceit, saying that "at every step" he acted in accordance with Mrs Isbilen's instructions.

He says she gave her approval to all the financial transactions and investments he carried out, which had been signed by her "confirming her instructions and authorisation".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
×