'Spy' was a 'founding member' Prince Andrew's Chinese money-making venture
17 December 2024, 05:32
An alleged spy who had his identity revealed on Monday was a “founder” of Prince Andrew’s money-making scheme in China.
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The alleged spy, named as Yang Tengbo, had business links with the Duke of York and even visited Buckingham Palace.
The “spy” had only been known publicly as "H6" after a court-imposed anonymity order.
Mr Tengbo was banned from Britain by the Government on national security grounds, having visited Buckingham Palace twice during his stint in the UK.
The alleged spy was a “founding member” of Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace China venture, the Telegraph reports.
Reports claim the Duke financially benefited from the venture due to a clause that granted him a 2 per cent cut of its profits.
Calls for the disgraced Duke to confirm if this is the case are growing louder.
It comes as the Duke of York was reportedly told to "uninvite himself" from the Royals pre-Christmas bash at Buckingham Palace this Thursday following news of his association to the individual.
Last Christmas, Andrew walked from Sandringham to church with the other royals - symbolic of his gradual rehabilitation within the monarchy.
But this year, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, will reportedly miss the celebrations after being linked to a Chinese ‘spy’ who was his ‘close confidant’, staying at his home Royal Lodge instead.
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According to MailOnline, King Charles’ brother has voluntarily decided not to attend the celebrations so as not to embarrass the King any further.
Both Andrew and Fergie’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie had already excused themselves, opting instead to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws.
In a statement following the ruling, Mr Tengbo said: "Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity.
"I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a 'spy' is entirely untrue," Mr Tengbo continued.
"This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the SIAC decision. It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted," Mr Tengbo continued in his statement, released on Monday.
"I have been excluded from seeing most of the evidence that was used against me under a process which is widely acknowledged by SIAC practitioners as inherently unfair: decisions are made based on secret evidence and closed proceedings, which has been described as 'taking blind shots at a hidden target'.
"On their own fact finding, even the three judges in this case concluded that there was 'not an abundance of evidence' against me, their decision was 'finely balanced', and there could be an 'innocent explanation' for my activities. This has not been reported in the media.
"The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this. When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded.
"I am an independent self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West. I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses. My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
"I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK."
