Tycoon’s donation to royal charity probed

Scotland’s charity regulator has launched an investigation following claims the Prince of Wales’ charitable foundation accepted a six-figure sum from a wealthy Russian donor.

Charles wrote a letter thanking the businessman for his generous offer of more than £500,000 to the Prince’s Foundation last year, and suggested they could meet after the Covid crisis.

The charity initially received £100,000 but the total sum was reportedly rejected by the ethics committee of the foundation, whose headquarters are in Scotland, following concerns about its provenance, according to The Sunday Times.

The regulator’s investigation comes shortly after an alleged cash-for-honours scandal which saw Michael Fawcett temporarily step down as the foundation’s chief executive earlier this month.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Charity Regulator said: “We have been working with the Prince’s Foundation to better understand the use of the organisation’s funds, and to gain a full understanding of the work which is being undertaken by the charity’s trustees to investigate the range of issues which have been raised.

“We have written to the trustees informing them that we will investigate these matters under the powers set out in section 28 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and will follow up any additional queries as they arise.

“It is the responsibility of all charity trustees, the people who manage and control a charity, to act at all times in the interests of the charity and comply with their legal duties in doing so.”