Gherson lawyer, Thomas Garner, was quoted in The Times in relation to the recent developments in the Prince Andrew story. [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prince-andrew-falsely-portraying-himself-as-keen-to-help-jeffrey-epstein-investigation-says-us-lawyer-2095n6lfk?shareToken=ed44ce31336e674129f2fe29217aeeec].
US Prosecutors revealed yesterday that a formal mutual legal assistance request had been sent to the UK to question Prince Andrew. Unusually this was made public. Prince Andrew has repeatedly said that he is prepared to cooperate with the investigation surrounding the late Jeffrey Epstein but US Prosecutors have suggested that in fact he is not cooperating in the process.
Mutual legal assistance is a formal process whereby foreign states are able to secure evidence for use in criminal proceedings. It is believed that the Prince’s lawyers have been engaged in negotiations about the form which any cooperation would take with their preference being to provide written answers to questions as opposed to submit to a face to face interview process.
Under the arrangements that exist with the United States it would be possible for the Prince to be summonsed to a UK court to give evidence. An individual involved in such a process is entitled to refuse to answer questions – on the grounds that answering might incriminate them in a crime – but one can only imagine the further reputational damage that such a refusal could cause for the Prince.
Gherson have experience in handling complex cases involving multiple jurisdictions and should you wish to discuss any matters relating to extradition or mutual legal assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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