Islamic charity base has its bank account shut down

Bradford’s local paper the Telegraph and Argus reports on the decision by HSBC to close the bank account of the Bradford office of Muslim charity, Ummah Welfare Trust.

UWT have received notice from the bank that its account will be closed in two months’ time though the bank have provided no details as to the reasons for the closure.

The paper notes the concern of staff at UWT who suspect the bank have served the closure notice because “some of the money it collects goes towards humanitarian projects in Palestine.”

The charity has appealed to its local MP, George Galloway, who said he would contact the bank and ask questions in the House over the matter.

Mohammed Ahmed, on the trustees of UWT, said: “From a commercial perspective it doesn’t make sense because charities like us are some of the most stable customers.

“We do have alternate banking in place, so this won’t affect our operations but we find it quite offensive that a bank would go out of its way to do this to a legitimate charity,” according to the local paper. 

In 2008, Ummah Welfare Trust was unceremoniously dumped by its then bank, Barclays, again without any reason offered as to the 30 day notice served.

HSBC’s move comes at an important time for the charity with a spokesperson noting the significance of banking facilities during Ramadan when “we get 70 per cent of the donations we get each year.” 

Interesting in the news report is the reaction of the Charities Commission to UWT’s plight. Given the attention the Commission has directed at Muslim charities in the last few months, leading to accusations of ‘bias’ (4), one would think the Commission would do rather better than say “This is an independent business decision made by the bank.”

“Neither the charity nor the Charity Commission are aware of the reason for this action. The Charity Commission’s regulatory concern is ensuring that another provider is identified, the charity can still operate and funds are not at risk. We remain in contact with the charity,” a Charity Commission spokesperson told the local paper. But since proper banking facilities is vital to allowing charities to comply with the regulator’s rules, shouldn’t there be more interest and concern with the decision by HSBC to terminate banking arrangements without an explanation?