Standard Chartered Pulls Away From Prince Andrew Amid Epstein Scandal
Standard Chartered Pulls Away From Prince Andrew Amid Epstein Scandal
(Bloomberg) -- Standard Chartered Plc won’t be renewing its support for a charity founded by Prince Andrew after a disastrous TV interview where the British royal was asked to explain his friendship with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokeswoman for the bank said it will not be renewing its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace, which supports U.K. entrepreneurs, when it expires at the end of the year.
Following an hour-long interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. shown on Saturday, the prince was criticized for failing to acknowledge the suffering of Epstein’s victims. He largely focused on his own role in the scandal, and denied sleeping with Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein’s alleged teenage sex slaves.
Standard Chartered is the latest company to distance itself from the Duke of York’s charity. Accountancy firm KPMG, Pitch@Palace’s founding partner, has decided against renewing its sponsorship, according to press reports. KPMG declined to comment.
Barclays Plc declined to comment on whether it will keep working with Pitch@Palace. Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley’s ties to Epstein were in the spotlight earlier in the year.
Prince Andrew has enjoyed other links with Standard Chartered in recent years. He hosted an event for participants in its private banking arm’s Future Global Leaders program, an invitation-only networking group for sons and daughters of its wealthiest clients.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stefania Spezzati in London at sspezzati@bloomberg.net;Harry Wilson in London at hwilson57@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Marion Dakers, Keith Campbell
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