Queen Elizabeth’s cousin is accused of selling access to Vladimir Putin’s regime, according to a report.
Prince Michael of Kent was secretly filmed during a business meeting with two undercover reporters whom he thought were potential clients, telling them he could be hired for 10,000 British pounds a day, or nearly $14,000, according to the Sunday Times of London.
For a $200,000 fee, the prince also allegedly said he would record remarks giving his royal endorsement to the clients’ company, using his home in Kensington Palace as a backdrop.
The revelations came after a joint investigation by the paper and Britain’s Channel 4’s Dispatches.
The prince thought he was speaking to representatives of a South Korean gold investment company which was seeking access to the Kremlin to boost its bottom line, according to the Sunday Times of London.
The prince had said earlier he was “very excited” to take up a role helping the prospective clients’ business in Russia. He talked about how he had been given one of the Kremlin’s most prestigious awards, the Order of Friendship, and said his connections in Russia could “bring some benefit.”
The royal allegedly claimed he was “very excited” to help the purported clients and spoke of getting one of the Kremlin’s most prestigious awards, called the Order of Friendship.
He promised his connections in Russia could “bring some benefit,” the paper reported.
He issued a statement denying the allegations.
The 78-year-old prince insisted he didn’t have any “special relationship” with Putin and claimed he hadn’t been in contact with the Russian leader in 18 years.