Aid convoys ‘channelling cash to terrorists’

CHARITY aid convoys are being used to funnel cash to terrorists, the Charity Commission has warned. The regulator said convoys could be “abused” by terror sympathisers who use them to supply money and other resources.

It warned British charities that the convoys were not “an effective means of delivering humanitarian aid” and added that charities which used them would be subject to “additional regulatory scrutiny”.

Last December two men were convicted of funding terrorism after using charity convoys to Syria to help jihadi organisations. Syed Hoque, of Stokeon-trent, and Mashoud Miah, of east London, funnelled £3,000 to a member of the al-nusra Front via a British aid convoy. Hoque then supplied a further £1,500 via another convoy. In its report about Miah the commission said: “There is a risk that charitable aid convoys to Syria may be abused for non-charitable purposes, including facilitating travel for fighters or providing support for those involved in terrorism.

“This is of serious regulatory concern to the commission and impacts on public trust and confidence in those charities and the charitable sector more generally.”