An Iran-backed centre that hosted a vigil for a terrorist who masterminded attacks on Israel pocketed more than £100,000 from the coronavirus furlough scheme.
The Islamic Centre of England (ICE) received £109,476 from the government’s retention scheme, according to Companies House records.
A major centre for Shia Muslim worship, the centre also serves as an office for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appointed its director, the cleric Seyed Hashem Moosavi.
In June, 2020, it received an official warning from the Charity Commission for hosting a candlelit vigil on January 3 in memory of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Al Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s most powerful military commander, Soleimani was designated as a terrorist by the UK government for his oversight of Middle East militias that have kidnapped and killed of British soldiers and civilians.
Soleimani masterminded a number of attacks on Israel and was a key figure in Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah.
He was assassinated by an American drone strike in January, 2020. More than 2,000 people attended the vigil including Iran’s ambassador to London, Hamid Baeidinejad.
Director Seyed Moosavi issued a statement that praised Soleimani as a “dedicated soldier of Islam” who had died at the hands of the “most wicked members of the human race”.
The Charity Commission found the trustees of the ICE had “failed to discharge their legal duties towards the charity, which had resulted in misconduct and/or mismanagement” and had “put the charity’s reputation had risk”.
Soleimani had been subject to financial sanctions by HM Treasury since October, 2011.
Sanctioning the centre, Tim Hopkins, Assistant Director of Investigations and Inquiries, said: “Any charity being associated with terrorism is completely unacceptable and we are concerned by the corrosive effect this might have on public confidence in this and other charities.”
The ICE is a mosque and cultural office that runs out of a former bingo hall in West London and reportedly has assets worth more than £4million.
It funds other Islamic centres across the country, including Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Newcastle.
As well as being a registered charity it runs as a company limited by guarantee, which made it eligible for furlough cash. It is not known how many staff were funded by the furlough payments.
The JC contacted the ICE and the Treasury for comment.
