Interpal were recently cleared for the third time by the Charity Commissioners of any wrong doing in its charitable work relieving the suffering of Palestinian refugees.
In the Inquiry Report published in February by the Charity Commission, they found no evidence to substantiate spurious allegations of illegal activity on the part of the Charity.
Sadly, that is not good enough it seems. The Coop, for example, recently refused to supply Interpal with banking facilities. When asked why, this was their candid reply:
Please find below clarification outlining why The Co‑operative Bank has taken the decision not to provide banking services to the charity Interpal at this present time.
We understand that late in 2008 Interpal's bankers (Lloyds TSB) provided notice that they intended to cease providing clearing services on their behalf.
As a consequence Interpal contacted The Co‑operative Bank and asked if we would be in a position to provide them with the clearing services they required. Our decision not to offer banking facilities to Interpal was based solely on the fact that Interpal are named on the sanctions list issued by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC is an agency of the US Department of Treasury and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy.
OFAC has the power to seize payments made to or from individuals or entities named on their sanction lists. This position has not changed since December 2008 and Interpal remains on the OFAC list, consequently there is a risk to The Co‑operative Bank and to Interpal that any foreign payments made to or from an Interpal bank account may be seized by the US Government.
If The Co‑operative Bank agreed to provide banking services to Interpal we ourselves could be fined by the US Government for non‑compliance with their sanctions regime.
Consequently, our decision not to offer banking facilities to Interpal whilst they remain on the OFAC list still stands. Should Interpal be removed from the OFAC list, The Co‑operative Bank would be willing to reconsider this decision in the future.
You sincerely,
Russ Brady Head of Corporate Affairs
So there you have it. Blackmail, US style.
