The Charity Commission has restricted an international development charity’s spending as it investigates alleged links with proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas.
As part of its statutory inquiry, the commission has ordered the Al-Khair Foundation not to transfer any money to Gaza without its permission due to concerns of possible serious risk to charitable funds.
The commission received a complaint last month alleging the charity and its partners had connections to Hamas and had funded the organisation.
On Tuesday, the charity stated that it had submitted a serious incident report to the commission after an employee of one of its implementing partner organisations overseas, Mohammad Yousef Hasna, was detained during a visit to the UK on 31 July on suspicion of terrorism offences.
Announcing its inquiry, which opened on Wednesday, the commission said it had also restricted the charity’s transactions to Hasna or his organisation without regulatory approval.
The regulator said it would verify Hasna’s connection to the Al-Khair Foundation as part of its inquiry, and wider allegations made about the charity.
It will seek to establish whether trustees have carried out appropriate checks and due diligence on international partners.
The commission will also assess whether trustees are effectively monitoring the end use of funds internationally and have appropriate policies and procedures in place to protect funds from risk of misuse.
Established in 2003 and operating in more than 75 countries, the Croydon-based charity recorded an income of £74.8m and expenditure of £69.5m in the year ending 31 July 2025.
Charity’s vow to cooperate
In its statement on Tuesday, prior to the inquiry opening, the Al-Khair Foundation emphasised that Hasna was employed by one of its implementing partner organisations, not the charity itself.
The charity said it had temporarily paused any future funding to the implementing partner organisation while the relevant authorities carry out their investigations, “as a prudent compliance measure”.
“We transfer funds to our implementing partners only through established banking channels, with payments designated for specific, pre-approved humanitarian programmes,” it said.
“Before entering into any partnership, we undertake due diligence and compliance checks to help ensure that partner organisations and relevant individuals are not subject to applicable sanctions or included on relevant lists of designated or proscribed persons or organisations maintained by the competent authorities.”
In a statement shared with Civil Society today, the charity said: “We are cooperating with the commission’s inquiry with a view to answering questions posed, addressing concerns raised, and taking remedial action if needed.”
The charity said it was “firmly committed to ensuring that the funds entrusted to us by our generous donors are used for their intended purpose: meeting the humanitarian needs of poor and marginalised people in the communities we serve”.
“In Gaza and around the world we work hard to maintain robust governance, compliance and oversight processes designed to help ensure that aid reaches its intended beneficiaries,” it said.
