Prince Andrew ‘used fake name to set up a secret company with sports tycoon’

Prince Andrew used a pseudonym to set up a secret company with sports tycoon friend John Eliasch, it has been alleged.

The Duke of York, who is embroiled in a controversy over his links to billionaire paedophile Jeffry Epstein, called himself ‘Andrew Inverness’ when he launched Naples Gold Limited in 2002.

The name appears to be adopted from one of his lesser known titles, the Earl of Inverness.

Reference to the Prince on official documents relating to his business almost always describe him as ‘HRH the Duke of York’.

While the business affairs of senior royalty are widely reported, Naples Gold has escaped scrutiny and Prince Andrew has never spoken about it publicly.

His business partner at Naples Gold, Johan Eliasch, is Monaco-based tycoon behind the top sports brand Head.

According to the Daily Mail, it is understood that Prince Andrew was invited by Mr Eliasch to a Christmas trip off the coast of Thailand where he was photographed on a yacht with ‘a bevy of topless beauties’ in 2001, a year before the company was set up.

Business documents of Naples Gold Limited reveal that company director Andrew Inverness had the job title ‘professional consultant’ and the same birth date as Prince Andrew – February 19, 1960.

The company has filed paperwork including a recent set of accounts with no trading activity to Companies House earlier this week.

Its registered HQ is the site of a mail handling service on Old Gloucester Street in London’s Bloomsbury.

It has consistently filed annual accounts but does not appear to have ever generated income or spent money, or pursued other visible activity.

Its only shareholder is Mr Eliasch and its official status has always been listed as ‘dormant’.

In some circumstances, dormant non-trading companies can be used to hold assets on behalf their owners.

However, a spokesman for Naples Gold told the Daily Mail that the secretive firm was a ‘shelf’ company created to ‘facilitate a charitable initiative to conserve rain forest’.

The spokesman said the project was scrapped in 2003 because Andrew decided that being involved would represent a ‘potential conflict’ with the work of his brother Prince Charles, who ‘spearheads’ rainforest conservation for the Royal Family.

It remains unclear why a conservation initiative was named Naples Gold, and why the company has continued to file accounts.

Naples Gold was not the first time the embattled Duke used the name ‘Inverness’ while trying to remain below the radar.

Earlier this month a report in the Mail on Sunday claimed that he has a 40% stake in a company called Inverness Asset Management, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, shared with a wealthy benefactor David ‘Spotty’ Rowland.

The Queen’s second oldest son, who went by ‘Andrew Inverness, care of Buckingham Palace’, was also found to be a creditor of a luxury ski company, Descent International.

The company collapsed in 2009 and a spokesperson for the liquidator told the reporter at the time: ‘We understand that to be Prince Andrew.’

Buckingham Palace have been contacted for comment.