The BBC can reveal that Prince Andrew's precious commercial assets were managed for two years by a company controlled by controversial millionaire Doug Barrowman.

After the Prince's disastrous News Night interview in 2019, the legal ownership of his Dragon's Dan-style startup competition @Palace Global was transferred to Knox House Trustees (UK) a company linked to Barromain.

Barrowman and his wife, underwear boss, Baroness Michelle Mone, admitted they lied because they lied to a company that won a large government contract during the Coovid pandemic after recommending it to the minister.

Mr. Barromain's lawyer said he "never had time … had any business or personal involvement with the Duke".

Pitch@Palace Global remains the Prince's company. But, in line with long-standing royal practice, it is owned by the name of another person or company, representing him as the so-called "nominator."

Documents filed in the company's House of Representatives show that starting in 2021, the nomination owner is the Knox House Trustee (UK), who is controlled by Mr. Barromain and ultimately owned by Mr. Barromain until 2023.

Prince Andrew's finances were under scrutiny and raised questions about how he could afford his royal hotel mansion in Windsor, as he was cut by his brother, King Charles.

The prince’s choice of business partners has long been controversial. He said in December his advice with the British government said he had "stopped all contacts" with the Royal Palace's Chinese arm, who claimed he was a spy.

Mr. Yang denied being a spy or doing anything illegal.

Mr. Barromain also caused a lot of controversy. In 2017, HMRC began an investigation into one of his company, AML Tax (UK), which said it was “actively promoting” tax avoidance programs. It was fined £150,000 in 2022.

In January of that year, the Guardian reported the first link between Mr. Barromain, Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro. The two refused to participate until December 2023, when she admitted in an interview with the BBC that they lied about their ties to the company.

The National Crime Agency is currently investigating the company's suspected criminal offenses. Both Mr. Barromain and the Baroness denied any wrongdoing.

Writer Andrew Lownie, who is writing a biography of the prince, said: "Andrew has a long history with suspicious business figures and has masked his business activities behind nominees and maritime accounts. It does require a comprehensive investigation of Duke's financial activities."

Pitch@Palace is a startup competition founded in 2014, where entrepreneurs recommend their ideas to potential investors in a bid to win support. It has two parts:

• A UK-based version built for community interests that the company cannot pay profits to shareholders
• International Weapons, Pitch@Palace Global Ltd, held competitions in Australia, Bahrain and China and was established as a for-profit British company

Pitch@Palace suspended both arms after a 2019 Newsight News Night interview about the prince’s bond with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which led to Andrew’s resignation.

Still, international action became a possible way for the Duke to fund his lifestyle. Mr. Yang wrote in a 2023 court witness statement that the duke needed money “and viewed relations with China as a possible source of funding through publicity.”

Earlier this year, a Dutch company said it was negotiating it and said there was “great value” in the network, even if it suspended operations.

However, Prince Andrew never held the company in his own name.

Pitch@Palace Global Ltd was founded in 2017 and was originally held under the name of Amanda Thirsk, the prince’s private secretary, in an arrangement that is often used by the royal family.

But in early 2021, legal ownership was transferred to Knox House Trustee (UK) Limited.

The company was established the previous year and Mr. Barromain was named "significant influence" on it.

The company documents of the trustee of Man Isle Show Knox House (UK) were ultimately owned by Knox Limited, whose sole shareholder was Mr Barrowman.

In 2023, ownership of Knoxhouse Trustee (UK) Ltd., which still owns Pitch@Palace Global, was transferred to Arthur Lancaster, an accountant who has a long working relationship with the Prince and Mr. Barromain. This is still the case today.

In the same year, Mr. Lancaster took over as the sole director and shareholder of PPE Medpro. He is also a director of many companies involved in AML tax avoidance cases.

In that case, the judge called him "escaping" and said he "had real concerns about the reliability of Mr. Lancaster's evidence" which contained "significant contradictions".

After the case ended, his lawyer wrote to the court, deeming the conclusion “unnecessarily harsh” and that Mr. Lancaster was a “diligent and true witness” whose efforts to provide information were hampered by the Kuved pandemic.

The royal family has invested through nominees for decades, but it still does. In the past, although not in this case, this has always helped keep the details of its holdings confidential. Prince Andrew's participation in Pitch@Palace Global is well known, and he is listed as a "significant influence or control" on the company.

Mr. Barromain's attorney said in a statement: "Mr. Lancaster is a director of KHT (UK) Limited, which provides corporate management services to many external companies, including one at Duke.

Mr Lancaster declined to comment. Prince Andrew did not respond to a request for comment.