Osama bin Laden's Family Donated $1.2 Million to Prince Charles' Charity: Report

Updated on August 02, 2022 15:02 PM by Emma Alice

About Osama Bin Laden

Usama bin Laden, also known as Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, was the founding member of the Pan-Islamic militant organization al-Qaeda. The United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Institution, the European Union, and several countries have assigned the group as a terrorist organization.

He was a Saudi citizen

A member of the wealthy bin Laden family until 1994. [12] Bin Laden's father was Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire from Hadhramaut, Yemen, and the founding member of the Saudi Binladin Group building company.

[13] Alia Ghanem, his mother, came from a secular middle-class family in Latakia, Syria. [14] He was born in Saudi Arabia and attended university there until 1979 when he joined Mujahideen troops fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

According to the Sunday Times

Prince Charles is under fire yet again for donations to one of his charities. In accordance with the Sunday Telegraph, Osama bin Laden's half-brothers gave Charles a $1.2 million charity donation in 2013.

According to the outlet

Bakr bin Laden and Shafiq bin Laden (half-brothers of erstwhile Al Qaeda leader Osama Laden, who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011) supposedly made the donation following a meeting between Charles and Bakr at Clarence House in October 2013.

Despite the misgivings of key advisers, Prince Charles acknowledged the campaign contribution to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund (PWCF).

The office of Charles at Clarence House refuted that claim, issuing a statement saying: "The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund has assured us that this donation was accepted after thorough due diligence. The decision to accept was made solely by the charity's Commissioners, and any attempt to depict anything else is false."

According to a royal source

Charles mediated the transaction and consented to accept the donation despite the misgivings of his advisers, and he refused advice from some staff members to return the money.

In a statement

Osama bin Laden's family openly disavowed him in 1994, and there is no evidence that his half-brothers were involved in his activities or had any known connections to terrorism.

Sir Ian Cheshire, chair of the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, tells PEOPLE: "PWCF Trustees carefully examined the donation from Sheik Bakr Bin Laden in 2013. Due scrutiny was carried out, with data obtained from a variety of sources, including the government.

The Trustees made the decision to admit the donation. Any attempt to imply otherwise is deceptive and incorrect."

According to a source at the charity

The choice was made at that time after a thorough investigation of the problems and the conclusion that the acts of one participant of the larger family should not preclude other members of the family from donating money.

Charles reportedly accepted

The reports come just one quarter after Charles supposedly acknowledged nearly $3 million in cash from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Qatar's former prime minister, which was given by him in bags at his headquarters.

According to a senior source on Charles's staff

The royal would never accept a large cash donation on behalf of his charities again. The palace source stated that such charitable contributions had not been made in the previous five years — and "wouldn't happen today" — and that Prince Charles had passed the money on to his charitable causes.

The source said

"They followed the proper procedures, and auditors examined it," the source said. The Charity, which oversees the non-profit sector in the United Kingdom, has ruled that no action will be taken in response to the donations.