Chairman of Prince’s Foundation resigns

THE Prince of Wales suffered another blow yesterday as the chairman of his charitable foundation quit and an executive director “stepped aside” amid a cash-for-access scandal.

The resignation of Douglas Connell, chairman of the Prince’s Foundation, comes after the Scottish charity regulator (OSCR) began investigating claims that a Russian banker tried to make a donation of more than £500,000 to the organisation last May. Mystery now surrounds the money’s whereabouts.

The Prince wrote a note thanking Dmitry Leus, 51, and proposing that they meet after Covid lockdown ended.

Mr Connell, the foundation’s chairman of trustees since March, expressed concern about reports of “rogue activity” at the charity. He said he was “shocked and dismayed” by the allegations, adding: “I and the other members of the board of trustees had no knowledge of any such activity and we have launched an independent investigation.

“My view is that the person chairing any organisation should take responsibility if it appears that serious misconduct may have taken place within it.”

Chris Martin, an executive director of development, is also standing down pending the outcome of the investigation. It comes after Michael Fawcett, one of the Prince’s closest aides, stepped down as chief executive of the foundation earlier this month amid cash for honours allegations.

Mr Leus’s donation was intended to

‘My view is that the person chairing any organisation should take responsibility’

help fund a restoration project at Dumfries House in Ayrshire.

The charity initially received £100,000 but its ethics committee rejected the gift after discovering Mr Leus had been found guilty of money laundering in Russia in 2004 before the conviction was overturned.

Mr Leus says that the donation – handed to the foundation through a third party – was never returned to him and he is considering legal action.