Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Served Witness Summons for 15 December High Court Fraud Trial

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been served with a witness summons requiring him to give evidence in a High Court fraud trial in mid-December, according to reports from the BBC, the Independent and the Mirror. He is not accused of any wrongdoing. His appearance would nonetheless be a rare moment of public scrutiny for a member of the royal family.

What the witness summons requires

The BBC reports that the summons compels Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to give evidence and answer questions on or around 15 December. The Mirror gives the date as 14 December, and the Independent says on or before 15 December, so the exact day appears not to be fixed. Witnesses usually attend in person, but the BBC and the Mirror both note that a video link is possible.

The BBC says he is believed to be the first royal since the 19th century to be sent such a summons. The Mirror puts the precedent at 1891. The appearance would also be his first public questioning since his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, and the first time he has spoken publicly since being stripped of his titles.

The civil dispute behind the case

The trial concerns a claim brought by Nebahat Isbilen, an elderly Turkish woman, against her former financial adviser, Selman Turk. She alleges he misled her and used her wealth to his own advantage. The Independent describes the case as a £40 million fraud trial. The Mirror says her lawyers have told the court that tens of millions of pounds of her funds were misappropriated and that Mr Turk failed to explain where the money went. Mr Turk strongly denies dishonesty. His representatives, Janes Solicitors, say he looks forward to being vindicated in court.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s link to the case is a payment of £750,000 made to him in November 2019. According to court documents cited by the BBC, Ms Isbilen claims she was misled into believing it would help with a passport. Mr Turk disputes that. His case, as set out in the judge’s ruling and reported by the Mirror, is that she made the payment of her own accord, either as a gift to build goodwill with the then duke or because she hoped he could help her husband, who she says has been politically persecuted in Turkey. The BBC notes that the transfer came the day after the Newsnight interview was recorded. The money was later repaid, and the BBC says Ms Isbilen’s lawyers contacted him in 2021.

A second sum is also expected to feature. Court documents cited by the BBC refer to about £768,000 paid from Ms Isbilen’s account in January 2020. Mr Turk has described it as a loan to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to buy a chalet in Switzerland. Ms Isbilen contests this, and the claim was challenged at earlier hearings.

Why the judge allowed it

Mr Turk, not Ms Isbilen, wanted Mr Mountbatten-Windsor called. Last month Mr Justice Adam Johnson ruled that “fairness requires” Mr Turk be able to put his case using “the evidence he considers relevant and material”, given how serious the allegations are. The judge said it was “highly unlikely” Mr Mountbatten-Windsor would volunteer a witness statement, so a summons would probably be needed. He also described the evidence as “limited in scope”.

The Mirror reports that the summons can also require a witness to hand over documents, and that court rules say witnesses must be offered enough to cover reasonable travel expenses.

What happens next

The trial is expected to begin later this month and, according to the Mirror, to run for 11 weeks. The BBC says Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has been approached for comment. The sources do not say what he will tell the court. Nothing has been established in the case so far, and the claims on all sides remain allegations to be tested at trial.

The BBC points out that his finances have long drawn questions about transparency. A witness summons means that, in this one case, he may have to answer on the record.

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