LONDON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Prince Charles has rejected a parliamentary request to examine his accounts after lawmakers accused him of creative accounting.
Bertie Ross, the secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall, the prince's estate, and Keith Willis, head of finance, told the parliamentary public accounts committee they would not open the prince's books to scrutiny. The crown estate is not required to do so.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, had requested the examination and a report on the findings to Parliament.
Labor Member of Parliament Gerry Steinberg claimed the duchy's advisers had moved some $2.1 million of capital, which the prince cannot access, into revenue accounts so he could use the funds.
Steinberg added: "This looks very much like jiggery-pokery. It looks like you've been doing a bit of fiddling. The prince can't touch the capital, (so) you put the capital into the revenue."
Committee deputy chairman Labor MP Alan Williams said the accounts showed Prince Charles was "winning the lottery every year."
Since 1990 he has received a 300 percent increase in revenue from the duchy. He has been paid $150 million, an annual average of $10.6 million for 14 years.
