[Report] Prince Charles Receives More Than $1 Million From Bin Laden Family for His Charity Despite Advisers' Objections

Clarence House, Prince Charles' official house, has denied reports in the UK's Sunday Times that the heir to the throne arranged a deal in 2013 to receive a $1 million charitable payment from Osama bin Laden's half-brothers.

Despite the reservations of top advisers at the time, Prince Charles accepted the contribution from Bakr bin Laden and Shafiq bin Laden for The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund (PWCF).

Prince Charles Accepted bin Laden Family' Donation

On Saturday, Clarence House refuted that claim, claiming that the decision to accept the money was made by the charity's Trustees, not Prince Charles. Bakr bin Laden is the former head of the Saudi Binladin Group, a construction firm situated in Jeddah.

According to US court filings, Osama bin Laden was removed as a stakeholder from the family corporation in 1993, while Bakr bin Laden was chairman. When al Qaeda carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Osama Bin Laden was the network's head. Ten years later, he was slain by US special forces in an operation.

Neither Bakr nor Shafiq bin Laden have any known ties to terrorist activities, nor do they appear on any counter-terrorism sanctions lists issued by the United Nations or the governments of the United States, the European Union, or the United Kingdom, as per CNN.

Despite the reservations of experts, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, accepted the contribution during a meeting with Bakr bin Laden at Clarence House on October 30, 2013.

Clarence House confirmed the donation but denied that Charles arranged it or made the decision to accept it. The trustees of the organization made the choice to accept the money, and any effort to depict it otherwise is untrue, according to the spokeswoman.

Prince Charles' Series of "Cash-For-Honor" Scandals

The fund's chairman, Ian Cheshire, also stated that the decision to accept the contribution was made wholly by the trustees at the time. Since the news was released, Prince Charles has been chastised on social media. Prince Charles recently came under criticism when it was revealed that he collected a $3.07 million cash payment from a Qatari politician between 2011 and 2015, part of it in a bag.

Meanwhile, the Prince's Foundation, another of the prince's organizations, is being investigated by authorities on charges that its CEO offered to assist a Saudi millionaire obtain honors and citizenship in exchange for payments, according to Newsweek via MSN.

As per Prince Charles' foundation, clearance was granted after the monies were put in the organization's bank account at Coutts, where they were placed on hold until further deliberation. Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden have not been linked to any terrorist activities, nor has there been any hint of connection. They are linked to Osama through their father, Yemeni-born millionaire Mohammed bin Awad, who built his fortune through a building firm before dying in an aircraft crash in 1967.

Bakr was given control of the corporation, but his relationship with the Saudi royals soured in 2015 after an event at one of its projects resulted in 100 deaths. Bakr and his two elder brothers, Saad and Salah, were detained in an anti-corruption investigation two years later. Bakr debuted a year ago. The family severed ties with Osama years ago, yet their link to him has remained with them.

Because charities are not required to identify their donors, the link has not been documented in any formal public documentation. Last month, a royal insider claimed that the future king operated on advice and that such occurrences had not occurred in the previous half decade and would not occur again.

Only a few months ago, the Metropolitan Police and Charity Commission opened separate investigations into claims of a different type involving ties between Charles' Prince's Charity - a separate entity from the PWCF - and Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak Bin Mahfouz's foundation.

At the same time, Prince Charles' long-time ally Michael Fawcett resigned as chairman of the Prince's Foundation, following allegations that he pledged to help contributor Dr. Bin Mahfouz obtain not just British citizenship but also a knighthood. Prince Charles has stated that he is unaware of any cash-for-honors proposals, Daily Mail reported.