Thaindian News

London, Mar 13 (ANI): It looks like fresh trouble is brewing for Prince Andrew - he has been engulfed in a new ‘cash-for-favours’ row.

It has emerged that the Duke of York used another close friend to pay off his ex-wife’s debts.

David Rowland, once described as ’shady financier’ in Parliament, gave 50,000 pounds to the Duchess of York’s former press spokesman Kate Waddington, whom the Duchess owed in the region of 85,000 pounds, reports The Telegraph.

The Duke and Rowland have been close friends for some years.

In 2009, the Duke opened Rowland’s bank in Luxembourg in his official capacity as Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment, despite the fact that the Government department in charge of promoting British business abroad did not officially sanction the one-day visit.

While UK Trade and Investment fund the vast majority of the Duke’s overseas visits, Buckingham Palace admitted that the Duke had paid for the trip to Luxembourg to open Banque Havilland personally.

The disclosure that Rowland has paid off a large part of what the Duchess owed Waddington will add to concerns that the Duke is abusing his position for his own personal benefit.

It follows The Telegraph’s disclosure last week that the Duke’s friend Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile, had helped to settle the debts of another of the Duchess of York’s staff.

Jonny O’Sullivan, the Duchess’s former personal assistant, received 15,000 pounds from Epstein.

Rowland, who is worth 730 million pounds, making him Britain’s 25th richest person, was due to become Tory Party treasurer last year but quit before he took up the post after damaging disclosures about his business affairs.

He was accused of being ’shady’ in Parliament after a deal to buy Hibernian football club in Scotland turned sour. (ANI)