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Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz

Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz (Arabic: محفوظ مرعي مبارك بن محفوظ) (born 14 December 1969)[1] is a Saudi Arabian businessman living in the United Kingdom. Mahfouz is the executive officer of Saudi-based Marei bin Mahfouz Group, founded by his father Sheikh Marei Mubarak Mahfouz bin Mahfouz who is one of the richest men in Saudi Arabia.[2] He is the current Lord of Abernethy in the Baronage of Scotland.[3][4][5][6]

Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz
Mahfouz in October 2013
Born (1969-12-14) 14 December 1969 (age 54)
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Alma materKing Abdulaziz University
OccupationBusinessman

Biography

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Mahfouz holds a law degree from King Abdulaziz University, and a Master of Laws from the American University of London.[7][8]

He was awarded Knight Grand Cross in the Companionate of Merit of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem (GCMLJ) in June 2013. He was made Foundation Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford,[9] and was made inaugural Bredon Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge in July 2013.[10] The Mahfouz Building at Pembroke College, Oxford was named after him,[8] as was the HE Dr Mahfouz bin Mahfouz Room in the Chancellor's Centre at Wolfson College, Cambridge.[11] He was admitted to the Freedom of the City of London in December 2013.[12] He was a Vice-President of the British Forces Foundation.[13]

In November 2015, then UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was criticised for accepting a watch worth £1,950 from Mahfouz.[14] The watch was given as a gift after the unveiling of a statue of the Queen to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta.[15] Ministers are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than £140 but Hammond claimed he was advised that the event was a constituency one, not a ministerial one, and therefore the rules for ministers did not apply to him on that day.

Cash-for-honours allegations

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The Mahfouz Fountain and Garden at Dumfries House was named after him, and was opened by Prince Charles on 21 October 2014.[16] In 2015 it was revealed that a wooded area near the Castle of Mey had been renamed Mahfouz Wood after Mahfouz who reportedly donated £370,000 to its restoration.[17] He is an Ambassador and Community Patron for The Prince's Foundation.[18] Mahfouz met Prince Harry in 2013 and 2014 and donated £50,000 to his charity Sentebale and £10,000 to Walking With The Wounded, of which Harry is patron.[19] Harry stated in 2021 that he severed ties with Mahfouz in 2015 after expressing "growing concerns" about his motives, though aides from his father's household denied having any discussions with him regarding Mahfouz.[20]

He was awarded an honorary CBE in 2016 "for services to charities in the UK".[21][22] It is claimed that Michael Fawcett fixed the CBE for Mahfouz who donated more than £1.5 million to royal charities.[23] Prince Charles gave Mahfouz his CBE at a private ceremony in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in November 2016,[24] though the event was not published in the Court Circular.[25]

In 2017, Fawcett expressed in correspondence a willingness to see Mahfouz's honour upgraded to a KBE and to support and contribute to his application for citizenship.[26] In reaction to the story, former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker wrote to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick urging a police inquiry.[27] In February 2022 the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the cash-for-honours allegations linked to Charles' charity The Prince's Foundation,[28][29] passing their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service for deliberation in October.[30] In August 2023, the Metropolitan Police announced that they had concluded their investigations and no further actions would be taken.[31]

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References

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  1. ^ "Mahfouz Marai BINMAHFOUZ". Companies House. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ "The Saudi tycoon at the centre of an honours controversy". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Queen Mother's beloved hideaway extends its exclusive £50k 'royal weekends' after record low visitor numbers hits its finances". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Baronage title (Lord and Baron of ) Abernethy". Registry of Scots Nobility. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Baronies of Scotland - 2008". Debretts. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Registered on the Scottish Barony Register as the Lord of Abernethy". Scottish Barony Register. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Mahfouz Marei Binmahfouz, Baron of Abernethy". The Armorial Register. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Pembroke College Record 2012-2013". Issuu. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Public lecture: When will your robot do what my bird does?". Pembroke College, Oxford. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  10. ^ "The Bredon Fellowship recognises great benevolence to the College". Wolfson College, Cambridge. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Ring True Issue 20 Spring 2017" (PDF). Wolfson College, Cambridge. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  12. ^ "List of applicants for the Freedom of the City". City of London. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  13. ^ "British Forces Foundation Overview". British Forces Foundation. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Philip Hammond accepts £2,000 watch from Saudi sheikh, despite ban on donating expensive gifts". The Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  15. ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon. "Saudi gift row engulfs minister". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017.
  16. ^ Maya Wolfe-Robinson (5 September 2021). "The Saudi tycoon at the centre of an honours controversy". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Castle fit for Queen Mother valued only at £1m". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Meet our supporters". The Prince's Foundation. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  19. ^ Pogrund, Gabriel (5 December 2021). "Harry: I cut ties with dad's Saudi CBE friend because of 'his motives'". The Times. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  20. ^ Ward, Victoria (6 December 2021). "Prince Harry 'did not raise concerns' about billionaire Saudi donor with Clarence House". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Honorary awards" (PDF). Gov.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Michael Fawcett: Charles' former aide steps down over honour claims". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Prince Charles's aide steps down following claims he offered to help secure an honour for rich Saudi donor". Sky News. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  24. ^ "A thank-you letter and gift from Prince Charles for the Saudi billionaire in 'cash for honours' CBE scandal". The Times. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Prince Charles aides fixed CBE for Saudi tycoon who gave £1.5m". The Times. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Prince Charles aide steps down amid probe into claims he helped Saudi tycoon donor secure CBE". The Independent. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  27. ^ "Former minister urges police inquiry into CBE for Saudi businessman". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  28. ^ @metpoliceuk (16 February 2022). "We have launched an investigation into allegations of offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. Decision follows an assessment of a Sep 2021 letter, related to media reporting alleging offers of help made to secure honours and citizenship for a Saudi national" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "Breaking: Met Police investigate cash-for-honours allegations against Prince Charles' charity". City A.M. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  30. ^ Gadher, Dipesh; Gabriel Pogrund; Megan Agnew (19 November 2022). "Cash-for-honours police pass file on King's aide Michael Fawcett to prosecutors". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  31. ^ Ward, Victoria (21 August 2023). "Cash-for-honours investigation into King Charles's charity dropped". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
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