The Duke of York’s latest alleged business link is to a former ambassador to Russia who has been barred from entering a Commonwealth country on national security grounds
King Charles is said to be dismayed by the latest questions being asked about Prince Andrew’s business dealings.
The Duke of York was plunged into fresh scrutiny as his ties to a former ambassador to Russia who was banned from entering a Commonwealth country were revealed. It comes after Andrew’s close relationship with Chinese businessman and alleged spy Yang Tengbo was under the spotlight. It has now emerged that the Duke of York last year met the Chinese ambassador to promote an obscure but ambitious Middle Eastern investment firm called Waterberg Stirling.
Waterberg Stirling’s Ukraine-born vice-chairman is Oleg Firer, Grenada’s former ambassador to Russia who is now banned from the Caribbean country following a legal fight. As he fought that battle, Firer was invited to Andrew’s luxurious Royal Lodge in Windsor last summer where details of Andrew’s role were allegedly hammered out. It is claimed that Andrew is using his old business connections to make introductions for Waterberg Stirling in China, Africa and the Middle East as it looks to raise $10billion (£8billion) of investment.
Little is known about Waterberg Stirling, apart from a simple website, but it was described in a letter from Firer’s business partner Adnan Sawadi, as a “vehicle for HRH’s [Andrew’s] current and future engagement”. Sawadi later told the Daily Mail the letter was sent to “enhance their position” and as part of a “sales pitch about the duke”. He denied his firm had a “financial or commercial arrangement with the duke”.
Waterberg Stirling is described as a “key stakeholder” in Dutch company Startupbootcamp which is in negotiations to exploit Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace contacts, a Dragon’s Den style scheme he launched. Waterberg Stirling is reported to be linked to China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, the communist state’s policy of winning influence by building infrastructure projects in developing countries. It is said that Andrew’s role is to pass on his contacts made from his Pitch@Palace programme, which he was forced to abandon following the scandal of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A royal source told the Mirror: “The King is continually exasperated with his brother. It seems that every single time he is leaving him to sort out his own affairs, another matter of concern is raised. The King has been incredibly patient. Assurances were given to the Crown Estate from the Duke over the finances available for vital repairs on his Royal Lodge home but if there are concerns over the source of such income then the onus will be on the Duke to explain in full without delay.
“There is always an intense worry over what else may develop from the Duke’s private life given recent history and seeing as these latest allegations have emerged in less than a week, the Duke should be prepared to give a full explanation as to what is actually going on.”
The Mirror revealed last month that the Prince was facing a £1million bill for urgent repairs to the 30-room mansion. The Duke spent £7.5million in renovations 20 years ago when he moved in and agreed to meet all future costs of the upkeep. But with his finances shrouded in mystery, huge questions remain over his ability to meet the financial obligations.
Oleg Firer was born in the then-Soviet Union but is a US citizen. He set up an embassy for the Caribbean nation of Grenada in Moscow, close to the Kremlin. But he was stopped by immigration officials in Grenada in 2023 and surrendered his diplomatic passport. He was later informed that the country’s minister of immigration had assessed him as an alleged ‘threat to national security’. Firer appealed the decision, which he said was politically motivated, but lost. A High Court judge sitting at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court found that he was “properly refused entry on national security grounds”.
According to a High Court judgement, there was an allegation of ‘serious financial impropriety’, with the government of Grenada reportedly facing a $1million (£800,000) bill for the rental of the embassy in Moscow. But Mr Firir denies wrongdoing. Mr Firer told the Mail said the decision to bar him from Grenada was because “the current government is adversarial toward me for reasons beyond my understanding”. He said he had “not been presented with any accusations of wrongdoing” and was awarded £40,000 in damages after a judge ruled that Grenada had “breached his right to procedural fairness”.
Mr Sawadi said: “Startupbootcamp executives are in negotiations to acquire the former Pitch@Palace network on a territory-by-territory basis, approved by Buckingham Palace. However, Waterberg Stirling categorically has no financial or commercial arrangement with the duke.”
