Probe launched into money given to Prince Charles charity by Bin Laden family
text_fields
LONDON: The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles has reportedly accepted a donation to his charitable trust, an amount of £1 million ($1.19 million, 1.21 million euro) from the family of Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind, according to the Sunday Times.
The revelation heightens the scrutiny of the 73-year-old prince's charities, which have been rocked by allegations of criminal wrongdoing even though members of the Saudi family have done nothing wrong.
According to sources, Charles was urged by several of his advisers not to accept donations from Bakr bin Laden, the family patriarch and brother Shafiq, Osama's half-brothers.
The donation to the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund (PWCF) was agreed by Charles, 73, when he met Bakr, 76, at London's Clarence House in 2013, despite his advisers from the trust and office objecting to it, the paper reported.
PWCF chairman Ian Cheshire said the donation was made with the consent of the five trustees at the time. In February, British police opened an investigation into another of Charles's charitable foundations over an alleged cash-for-honours scandal involving a Saudi businessman.
Last year, the head of The Prince's Foundation resigned following an internal investigation into the allegations.
Michael Fawcett, the foundation's chief executive, had initially agreed to suspend his duties following revelations from the press about his links with a Saudi national.
Business tycoon Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz had donated large amounts of money to restoration projects that Charles was particularly interested in, AFP reported.
Fawcett was a former valet to the Prince of Wales and was also close to the heir of Queen Elizabeth II. He has been accused of coordinating efforts to grant Mahfouz royal honours and UK citizenship. Mahfooz said he had done nothing wrong.
In November, the Charities Commission, which registers and oversees charities in England and Wales, said that a formal investigation had been launched into donations received by Mahfouz's charitable trust on behalf of the prince's foundation.
The Prince's Foundation, established in 1986, is not regulated by the Charities Commission but is registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator.
The Scottish body launched its own investigation in September into reports that the foundation had received money from a Russian banker previously convicted of money laundering.
