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Britain
Prince Charles accepted £1m. donation from Saudi bin Laden family
2022-08-01
[Jpost] The UK royal family member reportedly met with the half-brothers of September 11 terrorist Osama bin Laden to accept the generous donation to his charity.

Britsh royal family member Charles, the Prince of Wales, received a one million pound donation to his charity from the family of Saudi-born terrorist and al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, The Sunday Times reported on Saturday.

The 73-year-old British prince reportedly met with members of the wealthy bin Laden family, including Osama's half-brothers Bakr and Shafiq. The meetings took place in 2013, two years after bin Laden was shot dead in a US raid on his hideout in Pakistan.

Charles reportedly accepted the bin Laden family's donation, despite the opposition of advisers at the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund (PWCF) and Clarence House, his royal residence.

One staff member reportedly told the prince that the news would cause "national outrage" if it were to be leaked to the media.

WHO ARE BAKR AND SHAFIQ BIN LADEN?
Bakr bin Laden is the former chairman of Jeddah-based construction conglomerate Saudi Binladen Group (SBG), founded by his father Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, the family patriarch. Bakr was arrested as part of a "corruption crackdown" in Saudi Arabia in November 2017.

Bakr was released from detention in 2019 after he transferred all of his stakes in SBG to the Saudi government. He was the largest shareholder of the group, having a 23.58% holding.

Shafiq, his lesser known brother, was among the 13 bin Laden family members to leave the United States in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, orchestrated by half-brother Osama. They are related through their late Yemeni-born billionaire father.

CHARLES 'TOO EMBARRASSED TO RETURN MONEY'
Sources inside the royal family told the Sunday Times that the donation could undermine the reputations of Charles and his charity, adding that "there are other sources of money in the world" and that "it would not be good for anybody" if news of the donation broke.

However, the sources added that prince deemed it "too embarrassing" to hand the money back to the bin Laden family, the report said. One of the household staff at Clarence House was reportedly "very vociferous" with the prince but was "shouted down."

The Prince of Wales' office disputed many of the claims made in the report, explaining the decision to accept the donation was "taken solely by trustees."
Related:
Bakr bin Laden: 2018-01-15 Saudi Binladin Group denies govt takeover after chief detained
Bakr bin Laden: 2010-03-23 Bin Laden family pleads for refuge
Bakr bin Laden: 2010-01-06 Saudi Arabia and Iran haggle over Bin Laden's children
Posted by:DooDahMan

#6  @#4 Chuck of Arabia
Posted by: DooDahMan   2022-08-01 18:19  

#5  That’s just playing dress-up in native costume, Besoeker. Justin Trudeau is fond of it, too — though he brings his own for the purpose instead of being gifted the entire set by his hosts.
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-08-01 14:34  

#4  Ref #2: Some have been known to say "seeing is believing."
Posted by: Besoeker   2022-08-01 14:03  

#3  Prince Charles will NOT be probed by Charity Commission over £1m donation from Bin Laden family as he is accused of 'serious lack of judgement'
Posted by: Skidmark   2022-08-01 11:52  

#2  Chuck's a not-so-closet muzz himself.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2022-08-01 10:45  

#1  To embarrassed to hand the money back? Boy the royals have come a long way since Henry VIII.
Posted by: ruprecht   2022-08-01 10:28  

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