Bahrain is to regulate the collection of funds through charities and their eventual distribution but the move is not a response to foreign pressure, a Bahraini official told AFP on Sunday. Bahrain will âput in place regulations related to the collection of donationsâ the official said. But he added that âat the same time, these regulations come as part of efforts to complete the regulatory environment in Bahrain and are not a response to external pressures.â
Bahrainâs Cabinet agreed on Sunday to regulate the collection of funds from charities and how they are dispersed. These regulations were put in place âto confirm their (charitiesâ) humanitarian objectives, for which they collect money,â BNA said. The official said that the new measures âaim to track money that is entering and leaving Bahrain,â and that âfighting terror and money launderingâ are also main objectives. The new regulations are, in general, part of a normal operation because we are completing the regulatory infrastructure and modernizing laws and regulations in order to complement the situation around us.â The official denied that there were any indications that money from Bahraini charities was going to terrorist groups. âWe donât doubt any of our charities,â he said. |