By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-04-04 11:16:22 | Updated at 2025-04-05 10:17:56
23 hours ago
New court documents detailing the relationship between Prince Andrew and alleged Chinese agent Yang Tengbo are being released today following a legal battle.
The papers will reveal more about Mr Yang's activities in the UK before he was banned on national security grounds.
Home Secretary officials concluded Yang may have been attempting to exert influence on the Duke of York.
Mr Yang denies any wrongdoing in the semi-secret case.
Mr Yang was accused of using his position as an influential businessman in Prince Andrew's inner circle to further Chinese state aims.
New court documents detailing the relationship between Prince Andrew and alleged Chinese agent Yang Tengbo are being released today following a legal battle.
Getty
In December, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission said Mr Yang had formed an "unusual degree of trust" with the prince.
The commission noted Yang had not disclosed links to an arm of the Chinese Communist Party involved in "political interference".
Yang had lived in the UK since 2002 before his exclusion.
Mr Yang became a key figure in Prince Andrew's money-making Pitch@Palace scheme that connected entrepreneurs with investors.
The scheme included major events in China.
Yang's influence grew following the duke's disastrous Newsnight interview in November 2019 about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Yang became a key figure in Prince Andrew's money-making Pitch@Palace scheme that connected entrepreneurs with investors.
Getty
The fallout from that interview led to Prince Andrew withdrawing from public duties and ended the commercially successful Pitch@Palace events in both the UK and China.
Documents released to the BBC show that one of the prince's closest aides, Dominic Hampshire, told Mr Yang he had personally salvaged the prince's reputation in China.
Yang was invited in late 2020 to act for the royal in a planned $3bn investment fund.
The "Eurasia Fund" scheme, to be headed by Prince Andrew, aimed to raise money for Chinese state projects in Africa and the Middle East.
UK security agencies were concerned this might lead to a royal family member advancing Chinese Communist Party influence.
Yang's influence grew following the duke's disastrous Newsnight interview in November 2019 about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Getty
The documents to be disclosed today include Dominic Hampshire's account of his role in events and his relationship with Mr Yang.
They will also reveal what happened when an unnamed UK government agency began speaking to the aide.
Further papers are expected to detail the mysterious and aborted "Eurasia Fund".
The release will also cover Mr Yang's work as a China consultant for major British businesses.
Previously disclosed documents revealed Hampshire told Yang the Newsnight interview had been "hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful".
Hampshire also told Yang he sat "at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on".
Yang was also invited to the duke's private 60th birthday dinner.
One document regarding preparations for a call between the prince and Yang stated: "he is in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything."
Mr Yang is seeking to appeal his exclusion from the UK on national security grounds.
