A Chinese businessman, who had forged close links with Prince Andrew and was authorised to act on his behalf to seek investors in China, has been banned from Britain on national security grounds.
The 50-year-old man, who has been granted anonymity and is named only as H6, was taken off a flight from Beijing to London in February 2023 and told that Britain intended to ban him from the country. This happened the following month.
H6 appealed against the ban at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which rejected his case in a written ruling on Thursday – the first time the reported relationship has come to light.
Buckingham Palace no longer comments on matters relating to Andrew, who was removed from royal duties by the palace in 2022, and Reuters was unable to reach him or a representative for comment.
The ban on the Chinese businessman came after the contents of his phone were downloaded when he was stopped under counterterrorism laws at a UK border in 2021, the ruling said.
It said this revealed Prince Andrew had authorised him to set up an international financial initiative to engage with potential partners and investors in China. The ruling did not say what the fund was intended for.