A British bank controlled by the Qatari state is providing financial services to multiple British organizations linked to extremists, said a report by The Times on Monday.
Some of Al Rayan Bank’s clients have had their accounts with western banks frozen or closed in a security clampdown.
Al Rayan counts among its customers a charity banned in the US as a terrorist entity, groups that promote hardline preachers and a mosque whose long-term trustee is a Hamas leader.
The newspaper demanded in its oped that the British government take action and hold Qatar and the bank to account for their actions.
According to The Times, the controlling shareholders of the bank are institutions of the Qatari state. Al Rayan is 70 percent owned by Masraf Al Rayan QSPC, which is Qatar’s second-largest bank and has close ties to the Qatari state.
The Government of Qatar directly owns 9.31 percent of Masraf Al Rayan, and owns other shares through state-owned companies such as Qatar Holding LLC (11.9 percent) and the Qatar Investment Authority (4.2 percent), according to data from the stock market analysis site Market Screener.
