Charles' charity went into business with convicted Latvian tycoon and former Blackpool FC owner Valeri Belokon Prince Charles's charity went into business with Latvian tycoon and ex-Blackpool FC co-owner Valeri Belokon, who was later convicted of money laundering He was convicted and sentenced to 20-year jail term after a Paris appeal court ruled his bank was set up 'in order to develop... money-laundering practices' The Prince's Foundation was involved in joint venture with Belokon's company Under terms of deal, Belokon ran charity's projects in Latvia, Georgia and China By Jonathan Bucks and Kate Mansey For The Mail On Sunday Published: 23:14 BST, 4 September 2021 | Updated: 23:59 BST, 4 September 2021 Viewcomments Prince Charles’s charitable foundation went into business with a Latvian tycoon later convicted of money laundering. Valeri Belokon, went into a joint venture with Charles, called PF Urban, to provide consultancy services in ‘ecological construction’ and ‘urban planning' Valeri Belokon, a former co-owner of Blackpool Football Club, announced to fanfare in Latvia in 2010 that he and Charles had formed a joint venture, called PF Urban, to provide consultancy services in ‘ecological construction’ and ‘urban planning’. Belokon’s company Latvijas a/s Hercogiste – which translates as The Duchy of Latvia – established PF Urban in a ‘joint venture’ with the Prince’s Foundation and a Kuwaiti property conglomerate. Under the terms of the deal, PF Urban ran some of the Foundation’s projects in countries including Latvia, Georgia and China – with Mr Belokon and a Kuwaiti investor called Sheikha Fadia Al-Salem al Sabah receiving ten per cent of any profits. According to records at Companies House, Mr Belokon, 61, was a director of PF Urban from September 2010 until June 2013 – two years after criminal proceedings began against him in Latvia over money-laundering allegations. The case ended with his Manas Bank being taken over by the Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. The father-of-three, once an associate of Donald Trump, has consistently denied any wrongdoing but a Paris court of appeal judgment in 2017 stated he had bought his bank ‘in order to develop... money-laundering practices’. Belokon’s company Latvijas a/s Hercogiste – which translates as The Duchy of Latvia – established PF Urban in a ‘joint venture’ with the Prince’s Foundation and a Kuwaiti property conglomerate. Pictured: Charles in Ballater, Scotland Mr Belokon insists his conviction and 20-year jail term – which he faces if he returns to Latvia – were politically motivated and built on ‘fabricated evidence’. He was, however, suspended from the board of Blackpool FC after the English Football League deemed that he was ‘not a fit and proper person’. Describing Prince Charles in an interview in 2010, Mr Belokon said: ‘The Prince is a very educated man with his own views and a great understanding of what to do for development, a bit of a fanatical supporter of the green movement, an avid polo player and a very pleasant interlocutor.’ Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility