Statement 23 August 2019

Al Rayan Bank does not, never has, and never will support any organisation, individual or event that promotes extreme or violent views or ideologies.

The Bank is a fully independent UK bank controlled by its board of directors. It is not controlled by the State of Qatar or any third party.

Al Rayan Bank only provides services to organisations which are authorised to operate under UK law and regulations.

Specifically, in the case of charities, the Bank only provides services to licensed charities which are fully registered and regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

The Bank undertakes due diligence on all of the organisations it banks. It also follows robust and closely monitored anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist finance (CTF) procedures. Any organisation or individual which fails to meet the Bank’s required standards or fails to supply satisfactory information is at risk of having their accounts frozen, closed or not opened in the first place.

AML is an ongoing challenge for all banks and Al Rayan Bank is fully committed to the fight against financial crime in all its forms, in partnership with the UK banking authorities. UK regulators regularly review financial institutions’ systems and processes and we continue to work with them to constantly improve our capability in this critical area.

Following discussions with the FCA, Al Rayan Bank earlier this year voluntarily agreed to place a temporary restriction on new deposit accounts for individuals it classifies as ‘high risk’ or ‘politically exposed’; all other aspects of the business are unaffected.

Al Rayan Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our firm reference number is 229148.