Prince Andrew used shell company to conceal investments from public: Report

Prince Andrew reportedly utilised a shell company known as Bank of England Nominees, which was established in the 1970s to avoid disclosing royal investments to the public, as per The Guardian. At least five members of the royal family, including Andrew, held their shareholdings through this government-backed company. The creation of the shell company was reportedly aimed at preventing public scrutiny of Queen Elizabeth II's investments, and she had convinced the government to modify a proposed law to allow the Windsors to keep the size and value of their shareholdings hidden from public view. The scheme operated for over 30 years and was also used by the queen's sister Princess Margaret, her husband Prince Philip, and her children Charles and Andrew.

While there is no suggestion that Andrew used any commercial information improperly, his use of the shell company while serving as a government special trade envoy raises questions about potential conflicts of interest. The royals are not subject to the same transparency rules as government ministers and members of parliament, which require them to publicly declare any significant shares they own.

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Documents accessedby The Guardian show that in 1973, a proposed bill would have made company shareholdings more transparent and enabled public scrutiny of the queen's finances. The queen's personal lawyer was concerned and warned the government that the monarch did not want the public to discover what shares she owned because it would be embarrassing. The palace secretly lobbied the government to find a way out of the situation, and a clause was quietly introduced into the legislation that allowed the government to exempt specific companies from the requirement to declare the identities of certain categories of shareholders, such as heads of state, foreign governments, and international organsations.

This led to the creation of Bank of England Nominees, which prevented the public from detecting which shares were held specifically on behalf of the British monarch or her family.

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