ODI – Banks’ fear of breaching counter-terrorism laws hinders the work of UK charities in Syria – new report

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ODI [to 7 March 2015]
http://www.odi.org/media

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Banks’ fear of breaching counter-terrorism laws hinders the work of UK charities in Syria – new report
Press release
5 March 2015
Banks’ fear of breaching counter-terrorism laws hinders the work of UK charities in Syria – new report
A lack of guidance from the UK Government, specifically the Treasury, on how banks should respond to counter-terrorism legislation has resulted in overly risk averse actions being taken towards UK charities working in conflict zones says new report launched today.

Driven by a fear of financing terrorism which is a breach of this legislation, international banks including HSBC, UBS and NatWest are effectively “de-risking” by closing and freezing bank accounts held by these charities and delaying, blocking or returning millions of pounds of donations with “no detailed explanation” says the report by UK think tank the Overseas Development Institute (ODI)…

Download: UK humanitarian aid in the age of counterterrorism: perceptions and reality –
Victoria Metcalfe-Hough, Tom Keatinge and Sara Pantuliano
ODI – March 2015 :: 36 pages
http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/styles/history_202_wide/public/odi-assets/publications-opinion-file-covers/9479.png?itok=1-J4cpRt