Bank faces allegations of ‘Islamophobia’ over decision to shut down accounts of some Muslim groups.
Bank accounts belonging to Finsbury Park Mosque and other Muslim groups are being closed down by a major bank amid concerns about money laundering for crime and terrorism, it has emerged.
HSBC notified a number of Islamic groups within the last few days that their accounts would be terminated, leading to accusations of “Islamophobia”.
But in a statement the bank indicated it had taken the decision to close the accounts in the wake of a £1.1 billion (US$1.9 billion) fine imposed in 2012.
The record penalty followed a US Senate sub-committee investigation into how shortcomings inside HSBC had allowed drug cartels and other criminals to money-launder though the US financial system.
Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, which was known as a centre of radical Islamist preaching by the cleric Abu Hamza in the 1990s and early 2000s, received a letter from HSBC which said its account was being closed.
The letter said the mosque’s business no longer fitted the HSBC’s “risk appetite” but offered no other explanation.
Khalid Oumar, one of the trustees of the mosque, told the BBC they had not been told why the account was being closed and added: “That has led us to believe that the only reason this has happened is because of an Islamophobic campaign targeting Muslim charities in the UK.”
An HSBC spokesman said: “We do not discuss individual customers, nor do we confirm whether an individual or business is, or has been a customer.
“For context however, HSBC was fined $1.9 billion in December 2012 by the US and UK governments and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.
“The bank is applying a programme of strategic assessments to all of its businesses.
“As a result of these ongoing reviews, we have exited relationships with business and personal customers in over 70 countries. The services we provide to charities are no exception to this global review.”
He added: “Decisions to end a customer relationship are not taken lightly, and are absolutely not based on the race or religion of a customer.
“Discrimination against customers on grounds of race or religion is immoral, unacceptable and illegal, and HSBC has comprehensive rules and policies in place to ensure race or religion are never factors in banking decisions.”
Other groups which have been told their accounts are to close include the Cordoba Foundation and the Ummah Welfare Trust.
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