James Middleton has insisted that an investigation into a £52,000 payment made before his Boomf company went bust is "just a usual part of the administration process".
James Middleton not concerned about investigation into defunct company
The Duchess of Cambridge's brother's novelty marshmallow company went into administration with trading losses of almost £2 million last year and legal firm Withers have been brought in to investigate a payment made to American Express UK three weeks before the company shut down.
The payment was made by Boomf's chief financial officer who said she paid the money "solely to protect her personal credit position, as she was named on the card".
One of the administrators Peter Kubik of UHY Hacker Young, told the Daily Mail newspaper's Eden Confidential column that this is not unusual and "certain payments are allowed" in order to "preserve the value of the business".
However, he said that this particular payment did not fall into this category, explaining: "She [the finance officer] shouldn't have done it. The creditor should not have received that money and we're asking for it back."
Boomf was sold by the administrators for £300,000.
Middleton, 35, appeared unconcerned about the investigation, saying: "This is just a usual part of the administration process that certain payments are looked at. This is one of them."
While 2021 was not a good year for his business, James had more luck in his personal life as he tied the knot with Alizee Thevenet in September in a "beautiful" ceremony in Bormes-les-Mimosas, a village in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, South East France
James wrote on Instagram at the time: "Mr Mrs Middleton.
"Yesterday I married the love of my life surrounded by family, friends and of course a few dogs in the beautiful village or Bormes-les-Mimosas. Words cannot describe how happy I am."
It is believed the Duchess and her husband, Prince William, were among the guests at the wedding, along with James' sister Pippa Middleton and her spouse James Matthews.
The couple had previously cancelled their wedding twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tagged in Duchess Catherine James Middleton