Turk may seek to call Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in civil fraud case

Mr Justice Adam Johnson gave Selman Turk permission to rely on a witness summary describing the evidence he hopes to obtain from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The ruling only allows Turk to seek that evidence. The judge said Turk would probably need to issue a separate witness summons, which Mountbatten-Windsor could ask the court to set aside or change.

Nebahat İşbilen alleges that Turk, her former adviser, misled her into sending £750,000 to the then Duke of York’s personal account on 15 November 2019 by saying the payment was for help with her Turkish passport. Turk denies dishonesty. He says she made the payment voluntarily because she hoped Mountbatten-Windsor might help her husband, who was imprisoned in Turkey. Mountbatten-Windsor is not accused of wrongdoing.

The money was later repaid and İşbilen dropped her damages claim for that sum. Her allegation that Turk misled her about the purpose of the payment remains part of the civil case. The judge said Mountbatten-Windsor could not be expected to know what Turk told İşbilen in private, but might give evidence relevant to the disputed reasons for the payment.

Turk submitted the witness summary on 22 September, almost two months after the deadline. The judge found no good reason for the delay, but said the potential relevance of the evidence made it unfair to prevent Turk from trying to call it. İşbilen’s lawyer pointed out that Turk had changed his account of a dinner attended by Mountbatten-Windsor: he now places it on 4 December 2019, after the £750,000 payment, rather than before it. The judge left the assessment of Turk’s credibility for trial.

The trial is scheduled to begin with court preparation in the week of 16 November. Whether Mountbatten-Windsor will testify remains open.