Britain’s Prince Charles is facing a potential probe of his charitable foundation by a government regulator after accepting £2.6 million ($3.2m, €3m) in bags of cash from a leading Qatari politician.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani handed over wads of €500 notes to Prince Charles at private meetings between 2011 and 2015, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper did not allege any illegal act.
Sheikh Hamad served as prime minister of the oil-rich Gulf nation from 2007 to 2013 and foreign minister from 1992 to 2013.
On one occasion he donated the cash in a suitcase and on another in shopping bags from London’s Fortnum & Mason department store. The newspaper said the money was deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund.
Prince Charles’ office, Clarence House, acknowledged the donations but said there was no wrongdoing.
A Clarence House statement said the money was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed”.
The prince’s charitable fund told the newspaper it had verified “that the donor was a legitimate and verified counterparty … and our auditors signed off on the donation after a specific enquiry during the audit. There was no failure of governance.”
The Charity Commission, the government body which regulates charities in England and Wales, said a review of the donated money would be undertaken before officials decide whether to proceed with an investigation.
“We are aware of reports about donations received by The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation," it said. "We will review the information to determine whether there is any role for the Commission in this matter.”
Qatar’s government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During his tenure as prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad oversaw the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, which has major property investments in cities around the world, including London. Qatar has huge stakes in the Shard skyscraper, Heathrow Airport and Harrods in Knightsbridge
The bags of cash came to light as police in London investigate a separate allegation that people associated with another of the Prince Charles' charities, the Prince’s Foundation, offered to help a Saudi Arabian billionaire secure honours and British citizenship in return for donations.
Clarence House has said Prince Charles had no knowledge of any such offer.
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
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Rating: 2.5/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
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December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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