Prince Andrew sets up company with disgraced financier accused of sexual harassment
Prince Andrew has set up a company with a disgraced former Coutts banker who quit after being accused of sexual harassment.
The Duke of York has gone into business with Harry Keogh, a former banker at Coutts who resigned in March 2018 following a slew of sexual harassment claims, including that he inappropriately touched young female staff, made lewd comments and was a heavy drinker.
It is alleged that the banker’s behaviour was so toxic that some women refused to work with him.
Price Andrew’s new venture will be a vehicle for his family’s investment, The Times first reported, named Lincelles, after the 18th century battle against the French in which the British were commanded by the Duke of York.
Lincelles, formed last June, is structured as an unlimited company, a move that will afford it more privacy and means that it is not required to file accounts with Companies House and can avoid disclosing its profits or income.
The duke controls three-quarters (75%) of the business through the Urramoor Trist, with Keogh listed as a fellow controller.
Keogh is understood to have been the prince’s private banker for some 20 years and in October 2018, he was a guest at the wedding of Andrew’s daughter Princess Eugenie.
Coutts carried out an investigation into Keogh in 2015, and at the time the chief executive recommended he leave. Ultimately it was decided he should stay, but he was disciplined and eventually resigned in March 2018.
Prince Andrew has faced questions over his close links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, an American billionaire who was arrested in 2019 after being accused of numerous sexual offences, and later found dead in his cell in an apparent suicide.
The Duke has been accused of having sex with Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 at the house of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently imprisoned in New York.
Lincelle’s other controller is Charles Douglas, a commercial lawyer specialising in advising offshore funds for wealthy individuals.
Its sole director is Dominic Hampshire, the secretary of the Quad-Centenary Club.
A spokesman for Prince Andrew told The Times: “The Duke of York’s private office established the Urramoor Trust, which owns both Lincelles Unlimited and Urramoor Limited, a private limited company, which files public accounts.
“The trust, of which the Duke of York is settlor but not a beneficiary, has independent trustees. The duke is not an owner of either Lincelles or Urramoor Limited as a matter of fact and law. Lincelles Unlimited has never been operational, has not received any funds or paid any moneys out.”