The deal was discussed in autumn 2013, nearly three years after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor claimed he had cut off contact with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein plotted to secure £1 million in cash for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as part of a lucrative business deal with an American investment giant, the Telegraph can disclose.
The former Prince’s company would have received a £1m ($2.26m) advance from the proposed partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald and his aide David Stern, which was brokered with the help of Epstein.
Epstein also wanted Mountbatten-Windsor to have a 40% cut of future profits, the emails suggest.
The aim was to use the royal’s connections to introduce clients to the asset manager.
The plan was discussed in autumn 2013, nearly three years after Mountbatten-Windsor claimed he had cut off contact with the billionaire. In negotiations, the disgraced royal appears to have been referred to as “Mr T”.
Had the deal gone ahead under the terms Epstein wanted, 40% of the proceeds would have gone to Mountbatten-Windsor, with the same amount for Cantor Fitzgerald and 20% to Stern, according to emails published by the US Department of Justice.
Discussions eventually collapsed, but the failed plan will raise fresh questions over Mountbatten-Windsor’s business dealings while he was still a working member of the royal family.
The revelations come after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
It followed reporting by the Telegraph that the former duke allegedly leaked confidential information that he had obtained through his trade envoy role to Epstein and others.
Stern has also been facing scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein while acting as a close confidant to the then Duke of York.
Emails uncovered in the Epstein files show that Stern had plotted with the paedophile over the potential deal with Cantor Fitzgerald and that the aide was set to personally benefit, with the pair privately expressing their anger with Mountbatten-Windsor’s legal advisers.
Documents disclosed to the Department of Justice include a confidential draft of an agreement, known as a term sheet, which said the purpose of the venture was to create an asset management business that earned fees from investments.
Mountbatten-Windsor would make money through referral fees for steering clients to the asset management firm.
The agreement stated that Cantor Fitzgerald would “advance the sum of £1,000,000” to Urramoor, a company owned by Mountbatten-Windsor through a trust, for the 10-year agreement, with fees gained from the deal repaying the loan.
An agreement on referrals said Mountbatten-Windsor’s company had “relationships with certain organisations and individuals, including asset management firms, sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, and high net worth individuals or family offices that may benefit from services provided by affiliates of Cantor” and was “willing to arrange introductions”.
Under the terms of the deal, the then prince would have received a 50% share of the referral fee for each client introduced to the asset manager.
However, in emails, Stern and Epstein lashed out at the initial terms reportedly sent from Howard Lutnick, the chairman and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, with Mountbatten-Windsor’s aide saying: “I think madness.”
“They are still at it. We kill it?” he added.
Epstein said the deal was “crazy” and complained that there was “no predetermined split” before Stern asked if they should “kill the whole thing” and said that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyer was “out of his depth”.
Epstein suggested a counter-offer of “fifty-fifty split, first 1 million to offset loan” before Stern replied: “Instead of 50/50, can we do 40/40/20? 20 for me ...”
“This is original PA idea,” Stern added. Epstein said “yes”, and Stern replied: “dankeschon.”
Stern and Epstein frequently referred to Mountbatten-Windsor in emails as “PA” – short for Prince Andrew.
Stern then emailed Epstein with a draft of an email which would go to Lutnick from Mountbatten-Windsor, suggesting a split of 40% for the royal, 40% for Cantor Fitzgerald and 20% for himself and confirming the “1 million to offset loan”.
Earlier emails showed Epstein was nervous about a public backlash over Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement in the deal.
In August 2013, Epstein raised his concerns with Stern that Lutnick, his next-door neighbour in New York and the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, was subject to financial disclosure requirements, and that this could mean “PA will end up being in the news”
In another email, Epstein warned Stern that Cantor Fitzgerald’s gaming business in Las Vegas could force Lutnick to reveal the arrangement to gambling regulators and “you will have holy hell to pay”.
It is common for investment banks to have discussions with high-profile individuals who may be able to refer clients.
Bizarrely, the draft agreement appears to refer to Mountbatten-Windsor as “Mr T” and says that he would have to waive sovereign immunity for any breaches of the agreement, allowing them to take legal action against him if there were to be a dispute.
It adds: “Mr T would refer all business opportunities (including his affiliates’ business opportunities) to the Company, and would not directly or indirectly engage in any activity that the Company could not.
“Mr T would assign any remuneration, ownership or control rights relating to any outside business activity to the Company. Any distributions of income to Urramoor would be conditioned on Urramoor and Mr T’s compliance with exclusivity obligations.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously been criticised by anti-monarchist groups for using a pseudonym when registering his business interests.
The name “Andrew Inverness” was used in registration details with Companies House over a decade ago – the name being a reference to one of his lesser-known titles, the Earl of Inverness.
Lutnick, who is now the US Secretary of Commerce under Donald Trump, has faced pressure over his ties to Epstein following the release of the latest documents.
The billionaire previously said that he was so disgusted by Epstein during a 2005 visit to his town house that he vowed never to set foot in a room with the paedophile again.
Emails published by the US Department of Justice contradict this and show that, as well as continued business discussions, Lutnick travelled to Epstein’s private island.
The US financier flew to Epstein’s Little Saint James property in 2012 with his wife and daughters – three years after Epstein was released from jail on a child sex offence. Lutnick insisted last month that there was not “anything untoward” about the island visit and that his family only stayed for an hour.
Earlier, the Telegraph revealed that Mountbatten-Windsor was deeply embedded in Stern’s business dealings after being recruited while he was trade envoy.
In a letter addressed to “Your Royal Highness” in June 2010, while he was an envoy, Stern said Mountbatten-Windsor’s “relentless work as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade” could help enhance his Asia Gateway business in Beijing.
The former Prince appears to have accepted the offer, with Stern emailing Epstein the same day to say: “It will be done as Asia Gateway. PA agrees to your decision.”
Financial documents also suggest Mountbatten-Windsor may have helped Stern strike a £20m business deal with a major Chinese property firm after entertaining its executives at his Buckingham Palace office.
A spokesman for Cantor Fitzgerald said: “Cantor Fitzgerald has never had any business dealings with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.”
Addressing previous questions over the Urramoor Trust in 2021, Mountbatten-Windsor’s office confirmed that it owned Urramoor Limited.
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