London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

New questions raised over Prince Andrew’s award to Selman Turk

New questions raised over Prince Andrew’s award to Selman Turk

Exclusive: Concerns were aired over Pitch@Palace contest win for banker linked to over £1m of payments to Duke of York
Fresh questions have been raised over Prince Andrew’s Dragons’ Den-style scheme after it emerged that concerns were raised over a contest winner who since been linked to more than £1m of payments received by the royal.

Selman Turk, a Turkish businessman, received an award in November 2019 from the Duke of York at a Pitch@Palace event during which 40 entrepreneurs gave rapid-fire pitches in a room full of potential investors.

Turk won the “People’s Choice” award for his business Heyman AI, a digital bank aimed at millennials, which later went bust. His victory was decided by a public vote online and an audience vote on the night.

The Guardian has learned that the day after the event, concerns were raised with Amanda Thirsk, then a senior member of the royal household, who said she would look into suggestions that entrepreneurs could game the system.

In an exchange with Thirsk, seen by this newspaper, she was told Heyman AI’s win “did not feel right or make sense”, adding “it would be [a] shame if people were gaming the system”.

Thirsk replied: “I also think your point is right that a campaign to ‘game’ the position is not quite in keeping … we will certainly look at this again for next time.”

A number of participants have told the Guardian they found Turk’s Pitch@Palace win unusual as he “won it by miles” and his pitch was “crap”, with some suspecting he may have used bots – autonomous internet programs – to boost his vote. In his live pitch, available to watch online, Turk forgets his words and before he can finish, he is cut off by the trumpets of the duke’s grenadiers.

Turk, Pitch@Palace representatives and Thirsk have been approached for comment.

It has since been alleged in court documents that Turk instructed a Turkish millionaire, 77-year-old Nebahat Isbilen, to pay Andrew £750,000 nine days after the Pitch@Palace event, and the duke is also said to have received payments of up to £350,000 from a company linked to Turk.

Details of the payments, which the duke has declined to comment on, emerged last week for the first time in a case Isbilen launched against Turk in the high court, alleging he defrauded her to the tune of £40m. Turk denies the allegations.

Since the legal proceedings against Turk emerged, it has been reported that the businessman first met Andrew between May and June 2019 at Windsor Castle – about six months before the Pitch@Palace event.

A source familiar with the event said they believed Turk received as many as 10,000 votes, whereas some other participants polled closer to the hundreds. One of the 2019 participants told the Guardian: “There was a group of us on the day that felt the People’s Choice award hadn’t felt right during that competition.

“Because their pitch was crap … Their whole concept was bizarre in that they were pitching for something when they didn’t have a licence. There was a group of us who felt it didn’t [seem] right that they had won the People’s Choice because they won it by miles.

“A few of us made the assumption, rightly or wrongly, that we thought … bots [must have been used] to do this because the way the awards worked was you were actively told to go on your network and get people to vote for you.”

Another 2019 participant told the Guardian: “Our initial surprise at Heyman AI winning that particular award makes more sense now.

“We watched all the pitches and Heyman AI didn’t stand out. Further, there seemed to be some more impactful companies that the typical member of the public would be drawn to, that is, those actually helping people as opposed to a new banking app.

“I think our thoughts were that they had mobilised more friends and family/social media followers. It was very much an innocent ‘I wonder how they did that?’ as opposed to assuming anything malevolent. We weren’t expecting to win, but at least we thought it was set up as a fair contest.”

It was reported that Turk met Andrew in London on at least two occasions after the Pitch@Palace event, including at a dinner with potential investors at Turk’s apartment in South Kensington on 5 December 2019, and in February 2020 at Frogmore House, the royal residence in Windsor Great Park.

Turk has admitted in his defence statement, provided to the court and seen by the Guardian, that he held meetings with Andrew at his flat in September 2019 – two months before the Pitch@Palace event. But he claims he did not instruct Isbilen to pay Andrew £750,000 and she did so on her own initiative.

Lawyers for Isbilen have been asked to confirm whether or not it is her case that she knew Andrew.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×