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Ex-Prince Andrew called to testify in civil case, 1st royal in 156 years to get witness summons
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has received a witness summons to testify in a London civil fraud trial, which would make him the first member of the royal family in more than 150 years to face one. He can ask the court to set the summons aside, so it is not certain he will give evidence.
The case was brought by Nebahat Evyap Isbilen, who alleges her former adviser Selman Turk misappropriated tens of millions of pounds. She says Turk misled her over a £750,000 payment made to Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019; he repaid it in 2021 and is not a party to the lawsuit. Turk says the payment was authorised in the hope Mountbatten-Windsor could help Isbilen’s husband, imprisoned in Turkey since 2015. The previous reported royal witness summons was issued in 1870 to the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
In short
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been summoned in a civil fraud case.
- The disputed payment was £750,000, later repaid.
- He may challenge the summons and need not testify.
Explained simply
A civil fraud case is a dispute heard by a court, rather than a criminal prosecution. Nebahat Evyap Isbilen says her former financial adviser, Selman Turk, misappropriated tens of millions of pounds; Turk denies this and says he was authorised to arrange a £750,000 payment to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The payment was made in 2019, and Turk says it was intended to help Isbilen’s husband, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 2015. Mountbatten-Windsor repaid the money in 2021, and Turk is not a defendant in the case. The dispute concerns what the payment was for and what those involved knew about it.