LONDON (Realist English). The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has accepted a donation of $ 1.19 million from the family of the organizer of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden, to his charitable fund, the Sunday Times reports.
According to the sources of the publication, several advisers urged Charles not to accept a donation from the head of the family of Bakr bin Laden and his brother Shafiq, the half—brothers of the leader of Al-Qaeda (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation). Consent to donate to the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund (WCF) was given in 2013 following a meeting with Charles and Bakr in London.
According to PWC Chairman Ian Cheshire, the donation was agreed by the five trustees of the foundation.
The Daily Mail reminds that as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, about 3 thousand people were killed, including 67 Britons.
There is no suggestion that either Bakr or Shafiq have sponsored or been involved in terrorism.
Bakr and Shafiq were related to Bin Laden through their billionaire father, Mohammed bin Awad Bin Laden, the founder of the BinLadin Group, a huge construction firm in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In total, bin Laden has about 50 brothers and sisters. The family disowned the terrorist several decades ago. Bakr took over the management of the family and its business in the late 1980s. Shortly afterwards the Saudi government moved to expel Bin Laden and take away his citizenship following his criticism of the Saudi royal family.
Bakr then removed him as a shareholder in the family companies and in 1991, Bin Laden went into exile, living in Sudan and then in Afghanistan, where he plotted the terrorist attacks on the territory of the United States.
Earlier in February, British police launched an investigation into another Charles charity. The reason was a scandal caused by contributions from Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz.
Michael Fawcett, chief executive of the foundation, had initially agreed to suspend his duties following newspaper revelations about his links to a Saudi national. The press claims that Fawcett, the prince’s former valet, coordinated efforts to give Mahfouz royal honors and even grant him British citizenship.
