To those who believe his story, Paul is the crown prince of Romania, a direct descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. To those who don’t, he’s Paul Lambrino: a fantasist claiming heirship to a non-existent throne. This is the story of Paul’s fight to win a $1bn inheritance. It features private spy agencies, missing Caravaggios, and a billionaire with an eye for a deal.

This piece, written by the FT’s Miles Johnson, is the first in our series, ‘The Great Escape’, featuring our most carefully crafted and deeply engrossing tales. It was originally printed in FT Weekend.

To read more stories like this and to save 40% on a standard digital subscription to the Financial Times, go to: ft.com/princeoffer.

Contributors: Miles Johnson, Mischa Frankl-Duval, Breen Turner, Laura Clarke, Cheryl Brumley, Matt Vella

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Introducing Against the Rules: Fans, a new season from journalist and bestselling author Michael Lewis. Michael Lewis bets high and low to find out how Americans, and their state governments, got addicted to a new form of legalized gambling. This season, we’ll meet bookies, lobbyists, lawyers and professional sharps. All in their own ways trying to figure out why fans might hitch their life savings to their favorite team’s performance. 

Listen to the series wherever you get your podcasts.

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The disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson remains Malibu, CA’s most baffling unsolved case. It’s been nearly 14 years since her remains were discovered in a remote canyon, and still, no one has been held accountable for her demise. 

To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery.

The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk.

Enjoy this episode from Lost Hills: Dark Canyon. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Introducing Power for Sale, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. In Untold: Power for Sale, host Valentina Pop and a team of FT correspondents from all over Europe investigate what happened in the Qatargate scandal, where EU lawmakers were accused of accepting payments from Qatar to whitewash its image.

Subscribe and listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Introducing Deep Cover: The Nameless Man, a new podcast season from Pushkin Industries.

This season tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial.     

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Law enforcement cuts off the Kinahan cartel, and a little red notebook in the back of a car might finally reveal who killed the electrician in Almere.

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Daniel Kinahan is more influential than ever, but law enforcement may finally be catching up. 

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An undercover operation in New York reveals a connection with Tehran.

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Back in the Netherlands, the high-tech unit of the Dutch police works to crack the murder case.

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No longer safe in Europe, the cartel bosses move to a city that is attracting criminals from around the globe.

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