British Prince Charles accused of helping money laundering at Baltic Bank
A close ally of Britain’s heir to the throne, Prince Charles, has been
accused of money-laundering at the Baltic International Bank, founded by
the Prince of Wales and a Kuwaiti entrepreneur.
Latvian banker, Valeri Belokon, the principal shareholder of the joint
venture called PF Urban, is being implicated by the authorities in the
central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan in a case, in which millions of
pounds’ worth of state assets have been stolen.
The accused eastern European financier has also been appointed to the
board of trustees of The Prince’s Foundation, one of Charles’s
charities.
Belokon is a former close business associate of Maxim Bakiyev, whose
father, Kurmanbek, was president of Kyrgyzstan until 2010, when he fled
to Belarus following an uprising. The men have been partners in ventures
across Europe and Asia.
Bakiyev, who lives in Surrey and has sought asylum in the UK, is now
fighting extradition to the US over allegations of insider dealing. Like
Belokon, he is wanted in Kyrgyzstan on charges of money laundering and
theft. Nicknamed "the prince" because of his luxurious lifestyle,
Bakiyev rarely went anywhere in his native country without bodyguards.
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