‘Where are her missing millions?’
Connor Stringer And Victoria Region
Family members of Virginia Giuffre have raised questions about the “significant loss of money” in the ongoing dispute over what is believed to be her multimillion-dollar estate.
Giuffre, who was 41 when she died in Western Australia in April, is thought to have amassed an estimated fortune of US$22 million ($33.1 million) through victim compensation funds and civil lawsuit settlements relating to years of abuse she suffered at the hands of the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
This includes the estimated US$12 million payment she received from former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to settle a sexual abuse allegation against him in 2022. Andrew has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
But court documents filed Friday in a legal battle over his estate in Australia put the property’s value at just $472,000; this is a legal threshold that determines how assets in Australia are divided in the absence of a will. It may increase as more assets are discovered.
His lawyer and caretaker estimated the value at $501,000 or more. It’s not clear where the money went.
According to legal filings, the estate includes business assets, jewellery, cars, a horse and personal items found at the farm where he committed suicide in Neergabby, north of Perth.
Giuffre’s family is understood to be privately concerned about the property’s valuation and the potential for millions of dollars to be lost.
They are fighting to prevent her husband, Robert Giuffre, who filed for divorce two months before he died, from receiving the money.
Giuffre claimed that her husband was controlling and at times forbade her from being with other men.
“It’s time to shine a light on Robbie’s control over Virginia,” a source with knowledge of the proceedings told London Telegram.
The bulk of Giuffre’s settlement money is thought to have been paid to the Witty River Family Trust. The foundation was founded in 2020 and lists Giuffre and her husband as co-directors with equal shares.
If the foundation has a board of trustees, a unanimous decision on money is usually required.
There were fears that the money given as compensation might have been spent or transferred.
Virginia Giuffre claimed that former mixed martial arts trainer Robert Giuffre has not worked out since 2017.
Even though Giuffre was separated from her husband of 22 years when he died, she could inherit at least a third of his fortune under the state’s marriage law.
Relatives and friends in Australia and the US argued that after her husband was accused of domestic violence, he did not want his wife to benefit from it and changed his will. Her sons told the judge last Friday that they did not believe she was mentally fit enough to write a will at that time. Her husband did not comment.
She had previously been accused by Giuffre’s family members of having an erratic lifestyle.
“I hope the court will order a full forensic examination of her estate,” the source said, adding that if it is revealed that Robert Giuffre knows the whereabouts of the missing fortune, “He will definitely have some explaining to do.”
Giuffre’s younger sister, Sky Roberts, and her half-brother, Danny Wilson, have long challenged Robert Giuffre’s right to money.
The legal debate over who should be appointed as administrators of the estate was first made public in the Supreme Court of Western Australia in Perth on 28 November.
The sons are being challenged by Karrie Louden, one of Virginia Giuffre’s lawyers, and her maid and caregiver, Cheryl Myers, who describes herself as a “second mother” to the sexual abuse victim in her final years.
The Giuffre sisters deny the validity of their mother’s final wishes, which she allegedly emailed in an “implied will” to PwC’s Lisa Foster in late February.
He stated that he wanted his money to go to children and other family members within certain parameters.
Heirs to benefit from potential royalties from Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s DaughterIt details the abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of powerful men.
Roberts and Wilson are also said to want to take control of the charity Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, which Giuffre failed to launch before her death.
The $3 million payment paid by Andrew was secured for the charity and remained in an escrow account managed by a third party.
In addition to the settlement from Andrew, Giuffre received $500,000 from Epstein in 2009. She also received an undisclosed payment in 2017 after settling a civil lawsuit with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s onetime girlfriend.
The British socialite is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in the US after being convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021.
Giuffre also owned four properties, including Ocean Reef, a six-bedroom beach house in Perth and a farm in Neergabby.
A representative for Robert Giuffre has been contacted for comment. He has previously refused to comment on domestic violence allegations, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
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