#London / #UK : Terror Trial Defendant Claimed Princes Link A man suspected of plotting a terror attack looked after money for an employee of a billionaire who was “good friends” of Princes William and Harry, it was alleged.Erol Incedal’s second trial took place in April but the allegations he made have only just emerged as the proceedings were heard behind closed doors
Incedal, 27, was tried for planning a Mumbai-style attack on Britain and targeting former Prime Minister Tony Blair but was cleared.
He was, however, convicted of possessing a document useful for terrorism and jailed for three-and-a-half years.
During the trial, Incedal told jurors that he was friends with an employee of the billionaire sons of an Azerbaijani minister.
He claimed that the man, Ruslan Mamedov, would carry large amounts of cash at “very expensive” west London nightclubs and lounges for his employers and other super rich people.
Incedal explained: “Ruslan, my friend, he had four credit cards.
“Each card he could withdraw about £4,000 to £5,000.
“Because he would be spending that evening partying and drinking he would give me the money to look after.
“He had billionaire friends and he was basically working for them.
“They used to spend £20,000 to £30,000 in clubs every night so he would take out a lot and keep some of it for himself – not telling his boss, obviously.
Asked who these “fabulously wealthy people” were, he said: “They are sons of a minister in Azerbaijan, good friends with Prince William and Harry.”
He was forced to explain himself after it emerged he had been bugged saying to another friend Mounir Rarmoul-Bouhadjar that he had £20,000 in his pocket.
Rarmoul-Bouhadjar, also 27 and from London, admitted having the same bomb-making manual as Incedal was found to have possessed and was jailed for three years.
Transcripts of the secret hearings, which have been newly released, explain why Incedal came to be living a high rolling lifestyle in the months up to his arrest in October 2013.
At the time, he was living in a plush bachelor pad in Paddington with no income apart from a student loan, and was driving a Mercedes and wearing a £15,000 designer watch when he was arrested.
He said Mamedov would take him and Rarmoul-Bouhadjar on spending sprees in Harrods and Selfridges.
He also allowed him to stay in the flat in Paddington, west London, after renting it for one of the billionaires so they could “party” with women they picked up.
Much of the trial remains secret, despite an application by the media to release more transcripts under a principle of open justice. Agencies
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