Feb 24, 2009, 10:50 GMT
Britain's Prince Andrew's former home Sunninghill has been abandoned by its mystery owner.
The prince sold the property in September 2007 for £15 million - £1.5 million more than the asking price - after it had been up for sale for five years.
It was bought by a mysterious Kazakhstani tycoon but no one ever moved in, fuelling speculation the deal was done as a favour to the queen's son, who has close links to the Eastern European country.
Kenes Rakishev, a 29-year- old Kazakh friend of Andrews has admitted negotiating the deal, but insists he is not the owner of the house in Berkshire, south east England.
Many believe Rakishev's business partner Timur Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of the Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, holds the deeds to the property.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman insisted there was "nothing whatsoever untoward" about the deal, following questions raised in a British documentary last night (23.02.09), which asked why the property was sold at such a high price and then left to rot.
The programme suggested Andrew was abusing his position as a UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment to further his own private interests.
However, the royal spokesperson said: "There were no side deals and absolutely no arrangement for the Duke of York to benefit otherwise or to commit to any other commercial arrangement.
"We cannot be clearer that there is absolutely no impropriety and to suggest that the Duke of York has personally benefited from his public work in Kazakhstan is utterly untrue."
A source close to the prince told Britain's The Daily Mail newspaper: "The house was sold before the current market crash to a wealthy international buyer who was desperate for something in the area.
"Yes, the duke was extremely fortunate to get such a good price but there had been serious interest in the property shortly before and he apparently benefited from that."
Andrew needed money when the property was sold because he had committed to taking on Royal Lodge, the Queen Mother's old home in Windsor Great Park, which he had bought from the Crown Estate for an undisclosed sum.
Sunninghill is now derelict, with smashed windows and cracked paving stones. The gates have been left open, trees that have fallen during recent storms have not been removed and outbuildings have been left to rot.
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