Reports reveal Bin Laden's family donated €1.2 Million to Prince Charles' charity

Photo: Reuters/File

A British tabloid stated on July 31 that one of Prince Charles' organizations had taken a one million pound (€1.21 million, $1.19 million) payment from the family of Osama bin Laden.

The heir to the British throne's non-profit organizations has been rocked by claims of criminal activity involving donations from other wealthy individuals.

The Sunday Times said that the money was handed to the Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund in 2013 by Bakr bin Laden, patriarch of a large and affluent Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq.

Both are half-brothers of the former al-Qaida leader and 9/11 mastermind assassinated in Pakistan in 2011 by US special forces.

In 2013, Charles reportedly visited Bakr in London, where he agreed to receive the present. According to anonymous sources, the heir to the throne was advised not to accept the donation.

Clarence House, the office of Prince Charles, verified the donation but stated that the decision to accept the funds was made by the charity's trustees and not by Charles himself.

It further stated that "extensive due diligence was conducted prior to accepting this donation."

Ian Cheshire, the fund's chairman, stated that the five trustees agreed "entirely" to the donation at the time, and "any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate."

There is no evidence of any misconduct on the part of the Saudi family.

Despite this, the disclosure is expected to significantly harm the reputation of the 73-year-old prince's philanthropic organizations, which several similar scandals have already tarnished.

The Sunday Times revealed last month that Prince Charles had collected $3 million in cash from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar.

In 2012, the British media stated that individuals affiliated with another of Charles' charities, the Prince's Foundation, sought to assist a Saudi millionaire in obtaining honors and citizenship in exchange for money.

The individual, business magnate Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, gave substantial funds to Charles's favorite restoration projects.

Michael Fawcett, the foundation's leader, resigned last year following an internal probe into the claims.

In November, the charity regulator for England and Wales, which controls the Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund, said it had initiated an investigation into the Mahfouz scandal.

Currently, a police inquiry is also ongoing.

Reports that the Prince's Foundation collected payments from a Russian banker previously convicted of money laundering prompted a separate investigation by the Scottish agency in charge of the foundation's monitoring.

Publish : 2022-08-01 14:49:00

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