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The former Prince Andrew, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, discussed ways round restrictions on his making investments while an official UK trade representative and shared official documents from the role with Jeffrey Epstein, files released by the US Department of Justice show.
Mountbatten-Windsor also sought to make representations on Epstein’s behalf to the then Emir of Qatar when the Gulf ruler was on a state visit to the United Kingdom, according to the files, released as part of the DoJ’s investigation into Epstein.
The files widen the controversy around the former prince’s dealings with Epstein beyond allegations that he was involved sexually with Virginia Giuffre-Roberts, a victim of Epstein who said she was brought to London for sex with Andrew when she was 17.
Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges in 2019.
Mountbatten-Windsor was a special representative for UK trade and investment between 2001 and 2011, an unpaid role in which he attracted repeated controversy. The files make it clear that he believed himself barred while in that position from making personal business investments or taking seats on company boards.
However, the files show he discussed with Epstein ways that he could circumvent the restrictions.
In an email to Epstein, from May 2010 while Epstein was still under house arrest for an underage sex offence, Mountbatten-Windsor referred to an earlier phone conversation, apparently about potential investments and barriers to them.
“So long as I delegate any responsibility to invest then there are no problems,” he wrote. “So Trusts are delegated responsibility as to [too] are any Banks or Investment Vehicles or for that matter Trusted individuals.”
In another email, apparently forwarded to Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor discussed with the banker David Stern the possibility of an investment in a company called the Green Park Group. The email mentioned Stern and another person, referred to only as “the guru”, and appeared to suggest they might make a profitable investment on his behalf.
“It might be that he and you are the Ghost for me in the up side of this entity,” Mountbatten-Windsor wrote.
There is no indication of which of several companies called Green Park Group Mountbatten-Windsor meant and no evidence in the files that anyone took up Mountbatten-Windsor’s suggestion.
However, the files make it clear that Mountbatten-Windsor was in regular contact with Epstein about his royal and trade representative roles. In November 2010, Epstein asked Mountbatten-Windsor to “punch my card” with “Sheikh Hamad” — an apparent reference to Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who undertook a state visit to the UK in late October that year.
Mountbatten-Windsor expressed regret for not making the representations in person.
“Sadly never got the chance to see Hamad before they left,” Mountbatten-Windsor wrote. “I don’t have his direct contact details so have not been able to mark his card for you.”
But he added that a message had been passed on through an intermediary identified only as ABZ.
Mountbatten-Windsor appears regularly to have passed on information relating to his trade representative work to Epstein. Among the files is an email showing that he forwarded to Epstein official information packs that had been prepared for a trip to Hong Kong, Shenzhen in China, Vietnam and Singapore. On Christmas Day 2010, he forwarded to Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s time as trade representative was marked by bad publicity over the help that Epstein gave Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife, with financial problems in 2011.
Files already publicised from the Epstein investigation have shown that Mountbatten-Windsor helped to facilitate one of the payments from Epstein — $60,000 transferred to Johnny O’Sullivan, a former member of staff.
However, the files show Mountbatten-Windsor also discussed his former wife’s financial issues with others. In an email discussing a series of business opportunities in July 2010, he mentioned the problems to Terence Allen, a banker based in Abu Dhabi.
While there is no evidence he became involved, Allen, who noted he barely knew either of them, replied: “Financially, I can help.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any sexual wrongdoing relating to women associated with Epstein. He has also always denied any financial misconduct.
There was no immediate reply on Tuesday to a request for comment from a representative of Mountbatten-Windsor.