LONDON: According to The Sunday Times, Prince Charles, the heir to the British monarchy, accepted a $1.19 million payment to his charitable trust from Osama bin Laden’s family.
Even while there is no proof any of the Saudi relatives have done anything unlawful, the revelation raises questions about the 73-year-old prince’s humanitarian organisations, which were shook by claims of criminal behaviour.
A number of Charles’ advisors advised him not to accept the donation from Bakr bin Laden and his brother Shafiq, who are the family patriarch and half-brothers of terror leader Osama.
Despite the reservations of advisors from the trust and his office, Charles, 73, approved the contribution to the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund (PWCF) after he met Bakr, 76, at Clarence House in London in 2013.
In February, British police opened an inquiry into one of Charles’s philanthropic organisations amid allegations of a cash-for-honors scandal surrounding a Saudi billionaire.
The head of The Prince’s Charity resigned last year after an internal investigation following the charges.