Prince Michael of Kent urged to cut all of his extensive ties with Russia, but he won’t

Prince Michael of Kent is, without a doubt, the Kremlin’s man inside the Royal Family. Michael has made a large fortune in Russia and no one is quite sure what he does and how he made all of those millions. We know that he provides introductions, and I strongly suspect that his “firm” is just some money-laundering scheme for oligarchs and Putin associates. Prince Michael is also well-liked in Russia, and he’s always traveled there. So much so that he was given the Russian Order of Friendship, which he apparently “returned” when Russia invaded Ukraine. So surely that’s it, right? He returned his medal and no more questions will be asked, correct? Well…

Prince Michael of Kent has stepped down as patron of a Russo-British trade body with close links to the Kremlin as he faces pressure to sever all his ties to Moscow. The Queen’s cousin, a fluent Russian speaker with a lineage to Tsar Nicholas II, has strong business links with Russia. But his connections to the Kremlin came under scrutiny after the invasion of Ukraine. This month he handed back an Order of Friendship award, one of Russia’s highest honours. Now the 79-year-old, who gets no public funding, has stepped down as patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce.

However, he remains an ambassador and shareholder of RemitRadar, a money-transfer firm led by ex-KGB officer Sergey Markov. Mr Markov is also named as the ‘head of the Charitable Foundation of His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent’ on the charity’s Russian website, which was taken offline after Ukraine was invaded. The Prince holds an honorary professorship from St Petersburg Mining University. The honour was presented in 2017 by billionaire Vladimir Litvinenko, Vladimir Putin’s friend and campaign manager in elections in 2000 and 2004. He is also a patron of the Moscow Academy of Industry and Finance and has an honorary doctorate and Glory of Russia award from Plekhanov Economics Academy.

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh said: ‘Prince Michael should consider his position. At a time when we’re expecting everybody to stand up in support of Ukraine and against the war crimes and atrocities committed by Russia, you would expect members of the Royal Family to be taking the same stand.’

Independent peer Lord Mann said: ‘It would be wise for him to detach himself from all Russian interests whilst the conflict continues.’

Last year, the prince was caught in a cash-for-access scandal after telling undercover Channel 4 reporters he could be hired for £10,000 a day to make confidential representations to Putin’s regime.

A source close to the Prince said last night he was concerned about xenophobia towards Russians, citing the difference between Russian citizens and the Kremlin. A spokesman said he never received funds or consultancy fees from RemitRadar.

[From The Daily Mail]

It’s not “Russophobia” to say that a British prince should clearly cut ties to Vladimir Putin’s criminal government!! There is Russophobia happening in the world right now, and I feel especially bad for the Russian diaspora whose businesses are being affected by it (like, Russian restaurants in America). This Michael situation is not that. He has business relationships with oligarchs and despots and he’s apparently throwing a fit about cutting ties with them. And yes, outlets like the Daily Mail are trying to bury these stories about Prince Michael. It’s all interconnected, the Tories, the oligarchs, Russian money flowing into London, the British hesitancy on sanctions, and on and on.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.