The furore over the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank accounts with Coutts has led to the resignation of two chief executives and an intervention by Downing Street.
But, when nearly a decade ago, three Muslim organisations, including Finsbury Park mosque, had their HSBC bank accounts shut, there was little public acknowledgment or support.
The chairperson of Finsbury Park mosque, Mohammed Kozbar, has criticised this “double standard” and spoke of his frustration that members of the Muslim community who have been struggling with this issue for the past decade have been left to do so alone.
Other organisations that have previously been affected by sudden bank account closures, such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), echoed Kozbar’s sense of hypocrisy.
“No one – he, her, or an organisation – should have their bank accounts closed for no reason. It shouldn’t happen because of political views or religious views. That’s what happened to us, but no one cared at the time, no one spoke about it and we had to struggle by ourselves and manage our situation,” Kozbar said.
In 2017, Finsbury Park mosque won an apology and damages from Thomson Reuters after it was erroneously included on a global database linking it to terrorism activities.
The mosque was associated with the radical cleric Abu Hamza until 2005, when it was taken over by new management. Now led by Kozbar, it is seen as a model community organisation, with King Charles, then prince, visiting the mosque and praising the work it did to encourage ethnic minorities to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“We have seen the double standard now. When Nigel Farage had an issue, people jumped on it and it became a national issue with the prime minister speaking on it, which is how it should be. But, we are disappointed because when it comes to organisations like us, no one cares,” Kozbar said.
He added that this has been a longstanding issue within the Muslim community, with individuals – including children as young as 12 years old – and organisations having had their bank accounts “unfairly” closed, with little explanation as to why and no recourse to challenge the decision.
“It’s great to see some action taken by the government and banks to review the whole process.
In 2015, the PSC had their account with Co-op suddenly closed. Director Ben Jamal said: “The principle that I would apply, regardless of his politics, to Nigel Farage is no individual or organisation should be denied access to banking facilities without good reason, proper redress system of appeal, evidence of why there is a concern, what they’re violating in terms of how they’re supposed to be conducting financial transactions.”
Jamal added: “Conservative government claims that they’re taking action now on behalf of Nigel Farage because of an issue of principle begs a question of why was that not applied and why have you not taken action or even raised a murmur when this has occurred to a whole range of other groups whose political view you don’t share?”
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Azhar Qayum, the chief executive of the charity Muslim Engagement and Development, said their organisation has been aware for a number of years of Muslim organisations and individuals having their bank accounts closed, without good reason.
“This has included the chair of the Finsbury Park Masjid, Mohammed Kozbar and the CEO of the Cordoba Foundation, Anas Altikriti. What is worse is that these closures have often been extended to their families, including teenage children.
“Many Muslim-run and law-abiding charitable and third sector organisations have had similar problems. This issue has been devastating for the individuals and organisations concerned. We are in desperate need for legislation and/or regulation to ensure that bank accounts cannot be closed as easily as they currently are.”
Since the eruption of the NatWest controversy, MPs from across the political spectrum have told of similar experiences and how people associated with them have encountered banking problems.
They included Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a Labour MP who said he had to step down as the trustee of a charity – Friends of UKYP, the fundraising and grant-giving charity for UK Youth Parliament – because his association had complicated its ability to get a bank account.
“It was also the same issue with a youth centre I was a trustee of, but which I had to step away from. I also had a lodger who was blocked from getting an account at a bank after I sent a letter of reference for him when he was making an application,” he told the Guardian.
“And like other MPs, I get banks ringing me up six months, sometimes a year later, querying the sources of small amounts of cash which I would have lodged.”
A senior Labour frontbencher who preferred to remain anonymous said a “serious problem” was underlying the controversy surrounding Farage. “I had a car insurance policy stopped after nine years with the same provider with no issues. When an underwriter changed it I learned it was apparently ‘because of my job’.”
