EDINBURGH (Sputnik), Mark Hirst – The UK government must persuade banks to stop blocking charity donations over fears the money will end up funding terrorist activity, a representative of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) think tank told Sputnik Wednesday.
"The banks are unlikely to take greater risks without more guidance from the Government on how UK counter terrorism legislation will be interpreted and what they expect the banks to do to minimize any risk that they may inadvertently facilitate funding of terrorism," Sara Pantuliano, director of the ODI's Humanitarian Policy Group, said.
The report recommends that the government, particularly the Treasury, provide banks with guidance and also establish a permanent committee to assess the problem and identify suitable solutions, Pantuliano noted.
The ODI official added that it was difficult to quantify in absolute terms the impact the banks' actions were having on charities operating in conflict areas. However, their research showed that in some cases aid efforts were being closed down as a result of the restrictions implemented by the financial institutions.
The UK Government declined to comment on ODI's call to establish a permanent committee to consider the issues raised in the report, but Economic secretary to the Treasury Andrea Leadsom said in a statement last week that the government is "committed to ensuring that UK consumers, charities and businesses are able to access the banking services they need" and that financing is important for socio-economic development both at home and abroad.
