“My donation of £200,000 to Charle’s charity was practically STOLEN”: As the pressure on Prince and his advisors grows more intense, A banker claims his ‘donation’ to the royal’s Scottish project was rejected after an ethical committee deemed him unfit – but it was NOT returned in its whole.
Ex-banker Dmitry Leus claims that £200,000 of the £500,000 he provided to Prince Charles is missing.
In 2020, he donated to the Prince of Wales’ Dumfries House project in Scotland. However, his donation was rejected after Mr. Leus, who was born in Turkmenistan and was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia.
However, the Princes’ Foundation has only repaid £300,000 of the whole amount.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that a former banker has alleged that £200,000 of a donation he gave to one of Prince Charles’ charities is missing – essentially stolen.
Dmitry Leus claims he gave £500,000 to the Dumfries House project in Scotland in 2020, and received a personal letter of thanks from the Prince of Wales. However, The Prince’s Foundation ultimately opted not to accept his substantial donation after its ethics committee determined he was not a suitable donor.
Mr. Leus, who was born in Turkmenistan, was wrongfully imprisoned for four years in Russia on money laundering accusations that have since been dropped.
The Prince’s Foundation refunded £100,000, which was all it had received after the £500,000 donation had been mediated by middlemen. Mr. Leus has now retrieved an additional £200,000 of the contribution, leaving £200,000 still unaccounted for.
Former banker Dmitry Leus (pictured) claims that £200,000 of the £500,000 he donated to the foundation of Prince Charles is missing.
Michael Fawcett (right) was forced to resign in the wake of the cash-for-honours scandal, and the Metropolitan Police is conducting an investigation.
In 2020, Mr. Leus made a contribution to the Prince of Wales’ Dumfries House (shown) project in Scotland.
Mr. Leus is unhappy that his name has been harmed, and he makes the assertion that the money was “taken” in an interview transcript that will be included in an autobiography about his amazing life.
Referring to the donation to Charles’s Foundation, he says, “In the United Kingdom, I have maintained my support for the most underprivileged at the grassroots level.”
The media frenzy has resulted in one of my family foundation’s intended gifts being rejected, although they have not yet been entirely returned to us.
In a further twist, The Prince’s Foundation has retained his donation of £35,000 to assist repair the Castle of Mey, the old Scottish residence of the Queen Mother.
The Foundation elected to return Mr. Leus’s donation to Dumfries House based on his reputation, but according to The Mail on Sunday, it kept the donation for the Castle of Mey.
The allegations of Mr. Leus raise further issues about Charles’s judgment and the manner in which his foundation solicited large gifts from affluent overseas benefactors.
This newspaper disclosed last year a letter in which the Prince’s aide, Michael Fawcett, offered to help a Saudi tycoon, Sheik Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who had donated to the Prince of Wales’s charities, acquire British citizenship and a knighthood.
Mr. Fawcett was forced to resign as a result of the cash-for-honors scandal, and the Metropolitan Police are conducting an investigation.
There is no evidence that Mr. Leus was offered improper inducements in exchange for his donation.
This newspaper disclosed last year a letter in which the Prince’s aide, Michael Fawcett, offered to help a Saudi tycoon, Sheik Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who had donated to the Prince of Wales’s charities, acquire British citizenship and a knighthood. Dr. Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz is pictured with Prince Charles.
Why only £100,000 ever reached the charity headquartered at Dumfries House is a mystery. The Ayrshire mansion, formerly owned by the Marquesses of Bute, was saved for the nation in 2007 by the dramatic intervention of the Prince of Wales, who found that the residence and its furnishings were to be auctioned individually.
In response to The Mail on Sunday’s disclosure, the Foundation sent Mr. Leus an apologetic letter.
Mr. Leus has never addressed the topic publicly, but his memoirs is expected to reveal that he is furious, not only over the missing funds, but also over the fact that he was labeled a “inappropriate” donor. The Foundation elected to retain £35,000 for the Castle of Mey and even issued him a letter thanking him for his contribution, despite what he considers to be an unfair decision on his status.
A source stated, “It is puzzling how someone might donate to a charity in good faith, only to have some of their money held, some returned, and their reputation damaged in the process.”
This sort of behavior is expected in Russia but not in Britain.
Scotland’s Castle of Mey, located in John o’Groats, Caithness.
Camilla and Prince Charles at the Castle of Mey
Mr. Leus was convinced that neither the Prince nor his foundation were to blame, but the discoveries could not have arrived at a worse moment.
Charles visited the Queen at Balmoral last week as he assumes more of her responsibilities as head of state. In recent weeks, the 96-year-old queen has been experiencing increasing’mobility difficulties’
The Ministry of State has received a leaked ‘question and answer’ document that is intended to aid a ghost writer in writing Mr. Leus’s biography.
In addition to addressing the controversy surrounding the Foundation donation, Mr. Leus expresses his annoyance at the character questions that have been raised about him. He claims, “I have never been associated with the Russian government or billionaires.”
Mr. Leus, whose family is based in the United Kingdom, manages the Leus Family Foundation, which grants to charitable causes and helps fund youth sports and training programs.
The story of his missing funds arose after an inquiry by The Mail on Sunday into overseas donations made to The Prince’s Foundation.
The charity was compelled to sever relations with two “fixers” who acted as middlemen on its behalf.
Several officials at the organization have been forced to leave, and it has come to light that the Prince received a suitcase full of cash from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former Prime Minister of Qatar, also known as ‘HBJ’.
His Royal Majesty Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, wearing a Hunting Stewart Tartan kilt, and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, also wearing a Hunting Stewart Tartan kilt The Duchess of Rothesay attends the annual highland games while wearing a Lord of the Isle tartan.
A cannon in front of Mey Castle
On another occasion, the organization accepted a donation of £1 million from Osama bin Laden’s brothers.
The English Charity Commission is conducting a second inquiry into The Mahfouz Foundation, run by the Saudi Sheik, amid allegations that it misappropriated funds intended for The Prince’s Foundation.
Mahfouz has denied any wrongdoing and asserted that he neither sought nor was granted a knighthood or British citizenship.
The Scottish regulator of charities is conducting a third investigation.
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator spokesman: “Our investigation into The Prince’s Foundation is active and ongoing.”
The Prince’s Foundation stated that commenting on an ongoing investigation would be inappropriate.