UK-registered charities in crisis after bank accounts blocked

The recent closure of bank accounts of UK-registered charities has left millions of people without aid in conflict zones.

Banks including HSBC, UBS and NatWest either blocked or closed the accounts held by charities and international non-governmental organizations delivering aid in several countries, including Syria, Gaza and Iraq. In a report, Overseas Development Institute, ODI has warned against the freeze saying several charities have now been losing finances to fulfill humanitarian needs.

According to the report, millions of pounds of donations have already been blocked. The banks say the measure was taken over fears that the money could end up financing terrorism. But ODI says the move shows a lack of guidance from the British Government, on how banks should respond to the counter-terrorism legislation.

London-based economist Rodney Shakespeare says the move by the banks is not really addressing the cause of terrorism which is being aided by the UK itself.

“The UK is the cause of the problem. With the Americans and the Israelis, it has been creating, arming and financing the terrorist groups and in alliance with Saudi Arabia. So, they are creating the problem and at the same time there is a colossal of failure to inspire young men in the UK so their full identity and their future (are) involved in the country. So, these moves within the banking systems might or might not do something to diminish families going to ISIL terrorists”, Shakespeare told Press TV.

Shakespeare said that the UK’s policy is “a mass of contradictions” where policymakers do have some idea of consequences but they don’t care:

“The whole thing is a terrible model and it represents what is the contradiction of the heart of Western policy. We know that behind all this closure of global finance is Zionism which wants to smash out the Middle East. This will be having nasty consequences particularly on people who are suffering at this moment, they are in the cold, they are homeless, and millions are displaced throughout Syria and Iraq”. 

Tens of thousands of people in Syria, Somalia and Gaza are depending on the life-saving assistance provided by UK charities.

According to ODI, the freeze on donations and the closure of bank accounts have already delayed the payment of salaries to aid workers who live outside of the UK. It has urged the British Treasury to guide banking sectors about the counter-terrorism laws without adversely affecting legitimate aid activities.

JAS/SKL

P.S. Press TV truly apologizes to the Human Relief Foundation (HRF) for mistakenly using a photo including the charity’s name. We had no intention of tarnishing the HRF’s reputation. 

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