Prince Charles was plunged into another fund-raising scandal last night after it emerged his charity accepted £1million from Osama Bin Laden’s family.
The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation (PWCF) secured the massive payment of Bakr and Shafiq Bin Laden, half-brothers of the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it was reported last night.
The donation came after Charles had a private meeting with Bakr, 76, at Clarence House in 2013, two years after bin Laden was assassinated by US special forces.
Last night, Royal sources denied claims that Charles personally brokered the controversial deal or accepted the money despite objections from advisers.
They also disputed a report that one of his advisers warned the prince that “it wouldn’t be good for anyone” if it turned out that he had taken money from the family of the founder of Al Qaeda.
But the revelation in The Sunday Times that the prince’s charity accepted money from the family of the man behind the worst terror attack in history raises even more questions about his judgment and the fundraising efforts of his charities.
Nearly 3,000 people, including 67 British, were killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Charles, whose verdict is again in question, is pictured on Sandringham Flower Show
It comes just weeks after it was revealed that Charles accepted more than £2.5 million in cash – some of it stuffed in Fortnum & Mason carrier bags and a briefcase – from a former Qatari Prime Minister.
Osama Bin Laden’s half brother Bakr came to Clarence House for a gathering in 2013
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 company in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Bin Laden is said to have about 50 siblings and his family disowned him decades ago. There is no suggestion that Bakr or Shafiq sponsored or were involved in terrorism.
Bakr took over the family and company in the late 1980s, but soon after, the Saudi government decided to expel bin Laden and strip him of his citizenship after criticizing the Saudi royal family.
Bakr then ousted him as shareholder of the family businesses and in 1991 bin Laden went into exile, living in Sudan and then Afghanistan, where he plotted the 9/11 attacks.
Prince Charles was reportedly introduced to Bakr in June 2001 by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal Al-Saud, a Saudi monarch. Four months later, on October 13, 2001 – four weeks after the attack on the Twin Towers – the Prince of Wales dined with Bakr in Highgrove, his home in Gloucestershire, to discuss the Islamic faith. Charles is the patron of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, where the Bin Laden family is funding a fellowship program.
The official Court Circular reveals that the couple met again on October 30, 2013 at Clarence House. The Sunday Times claims that Charles ‘brokered’ the £1 million payment after this meeting – a claim disputed by royal sources.
Killed Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden was assassinated by US Navy SEALs in 2011
The newspaper alleged that several of Charles’s advisers, including at least one trustee, had personally begged him to return the money and warned that he would suffer serious reputational damage if he were associated with money belonging to the bin Laden family.
They are said to have been “very rowdy” with the prince, but were “called down.” These accounts are also disputed by those close to Charles.
A source reportedly said: ‘The fact that a member of the highest level of the British establishment chose to make deals with a name and a family that not only set alarm bells ringing, but horrific horror all over the world…why bother? doing this? I just thought no member of the British Royal Family should be involved in that sort of thing.’
The Mail on Sunday has learned that the State Department has been consulted about the PWCF accepting money from the bin Laden family and has given its approval.
Insiders say the charity’s five trustees looked closely at whether they would accept the money and ultimately decided to do so because bin Laden’s horrific actions would not tarnish his family.
Insiders claim trustees agreed it wouldn’t tarnish the charity’s name to accept Bakr’s cash
Chairman Sir Ian Cheshire said the decision to accept the donation was taken by the five trustees.
At the time, they were Dame Amelia Fawcett, a financier who chairs Kew Gardens; Sir Michael Rake, the former chairman of BT, John Varley, the former CEO of Barclays, William Nye, then the chief private secretary to Charles and Kenneth Wilson, an academic.
Sir Ian said: ‘Sheikh Bakr Bin Laden’s endowment in 2013 was carefully considered by PWCF administrators at the time.
‘A due diligence was carried out, in which information was sought from a wide range of sources, including the government. The decision to accept the donation was taken entirely by the trustees. Any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate.”
A Clarence House spokeswoman said: ‘The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund’ [the PWCF’s trading name] has assured us that a thorough investigation has gone into accepting this donation. The decision to accept was made only by the trustees of the charity and any attempt to characterize it otherwise is false.”
Royal biographer Angela Levin warned last night that the revelations were a “serious” blow to Charles, adding that bin Laden remained a “very painful name to hear.”
“It’s really unfortunate that there is another charge against his judgment – that he misjudged again,” she said.
“It’s serious for him because there’s so much chaos in the family right now, from people being mean and making accusations.
Royal pundit Angela Levin said the claims dealt a ‘serious’ blow to Charles (pictured yesterday)
“Especially with the queen at her age, he’s very close to taking over and becoming king. It leaves a stain. It’s not just a question of getting money, it’s of course a matter of thinking about the impression that leaves behind.’
The payment is the second money-raising scandal to hit Charles and the PWCF in as many months.
Last month, it emerged that the prince would have personally received £860,000 in carrier bags from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani’s Fortnum & Mason department store.
It was one of three cash payments, totaling £2.58 million, made between 2011 and 2015.
The Charity Commission ruled out an investigation into the donations and royal sources have emphasized that no such donations will now take place.
In a separate controversy, The Mail on Sunday revealed last September that Michael Fawcett, Charles’s closest confidant, had offered to help a Saudi billionaire obtain knighthood and British citizenship in exchange for cash donations.
The Charity Commission ruled out an investigation into the donations and royal sources have emphasized that no such donations will now take place. Pictured, Osama Bin Laden
Clarence House said the prince had “no knowledge” of the alleged cash-for-honours scandal.
The breaking news will shine a spotlight on those charged with advising Charles on sensitive financial matters. “It’s up to his aides to warn him about this and advise that he may need to get that £1million from someone else,” Ms Levin said.
“He has to be extremely careful not to put himself in a position where he is innocent, but the impression is very negative.”
The Prince of Wales built up a high profile in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s for his prominent speeches glorifying Islam.
The Bin Laden family was branded the Rockefellers of Saudi Arabia for their infrastructure projects and reaped immense wealth thanks to their proximity to the Saudi royal family. On September 19, 2001, 13 members of the family left the US with other Saudis.