A Charles press official said the donations made by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, the former Qatari prime minister, were immediately delivered to one of the prince’s charities and “all appropriate procedures were followed”.
The Sunday Times reported on Sunday (26/6) that Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, accepted a bag containing one million euros (5.54 million Brazilian riyals) in cash from a former prime minister of Qatar.
According to the newspaper, this was one of three cash donations from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim. Together, they totaled 3 million euros (16.6 million Brazilian reals).
Charles’s media office said the sheikh’s donations were immediately transferred to one of the prince’s charities and all “appropriate procedures” were followed.
There is no indication that the payments were illegal.
According to the Sunday Times, Prince Charles personally received the three cash donations to the former prime minister between 2011 and 2015.
The note says that on one occasion, money was delivered in a briefcase at a meeting at Clarence House, the official residence of the heir to the British throne. In another case, the newspaper added, the money was placed in bags at a Fortnum and Mason store.
Charles’ media office said in a statement that the charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim were immediately transferred to one of the Emir’s charitable societies, which implemented proper governance and assured us that all appropriate procedures were followed.
He received the money from the Prince of Wales’ charitable trust, the Charles Charitable Foundation, which aims to “change lives and build sustainable communities”. The fund awards donations to charitable causes in areas such as conservation, education, health, and social inclusion.
The charity told the Sunday Times that its officials had concluded that the donor was legitimate and that its auditors had approved the donation.
Donations to NGOs run by Prince Charles have come under scrutiny in recent months after allegations that one of them offered help to a Saudi donor so he could obtain citizenship in addition to a UK Order.
The Metropolitan Police said earlier this year that it was investigating the allegations.
The foundation is said to offer “full cooperation” with the authorities, and Clarence House said Prince Charles was unaware of the alleged gift-based offer of honors or citizenship to his charities.
Michael Fawcett, the prince’s former servant and chief executive of the foundation, resigned in November as the charity investigated the allegations.
Investigators found that he had arranged with others to award an honorary medal to billionaire businessman Mahfouz Merhi Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who denied any wrongdoing.
But the police concluded that there was no evidence that institution officials knew what had happened.
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