Prince Charles is being scrutinized after a British paper said he accepted over €3 million in several cash payments from the former prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jasseim bin Jaber Al Thani.
The sheikh, also known as “HBJ,” is one of the richest men in the country of Qatar and has invested in several prominent British businesses including the luxury department store Harrods.
According to The Sunday Times, Charles received three separate cash donations from HBJ between 2011 and 2015 with a combined total value of over $3.1 million. The Times was clear to mention they made “no suggestion that the payments were illegal” in the report.
An expert they interviewed for the piece, Norman Baker, did refer to the payments as “grubby, scuzzy behavior,” though. And HBJ did break usual protocol for UK charity donations by being in a cash payment instead of a series of checks.
Representatives from Charles’ Clarence House office released this statement: “Charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim were passed immediately to one of the Prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.”
Charles operates multiple charities, and another one of those foundations is currently being investigated by The Metropolitan Police for allegedly offering honors and British citizenship to a Saudi businessman in exchange for donations.
The governing body of British charities, The Charity Commission, has been made aware o the donations and said in a statement, “We will review the information to determine whether there is any role for the Commission in this matter.”
