Ghislaine Maxwell‘s brother is publicly backing former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor … claiming his actions may have been “sleazy” — but, prosecutors clearly can’t find any sexual misconduct dirt on him.

Ian Maxwell — Ghislaine’s older brother — spoke with the UK publication The Telegraph on Thursday … which just so happened to be the day Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The former prince had a known association with Ghislaine and her late partner Jeffrey Epstein … so naturally, the arrest came up.

Maxwell says Mountbatten-Windsor is going through an even more difficult time than his sister — because while he and other family members stand behind her, he thinks the royals have abandoned Andrew.

Maxwell is clear — and we should be too — that Andrew has not been arrested in connection with any kind of alleged sexual misconduct. He’s being accused of misconduct while serving as Britain’s special envoy for international trade … when he allegedly gave Jeffrey Epstein classified reports.

Still, Andrew’s family — including his brother, King Charles III — has distanced itself from him over the years … and, he even relinquished his honorific of “Prince” in recent months because of his association with Epstein.

Ian has long maintained his sister’s innocence … and, in this interview, he claims she’s “on the right side of history.” He even claims feminist groups should’ve gone to bat for Maxwell because “she is a woman who has been treated abysmally by the system.”