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Islamic Philanthropy Supports Refugees with $27.5Mln

Islamic Philanthropy Supports Refugees with $27.5Mln
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Islamic Philanthropy Supports Refugees with $27.5Mln

Islamic Philanthropy Supports Refugees with $27.5Mln

The Refugee Zakat Fund impacted 584,586 beneficiaries in the first six months of 2021, with total contributions of over $27.5 million, 70% of which came from Zakat donations, a UNHCR report has shown.

In partnership with the Muslim World League (MWL), the United Nations Refugee Agency launched on Thursday its mid-year report on Islamic Philanthropy.

The report underlines the impact of Zakat and Sadaqah donations raised on the refugees and forcibly displaced people in 12 countries including Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Mauritania, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Malaysia.

UNHCR’s mid-year Islamic Philanthropy report was released in its new digital and interactive format at a panel discussion organized at the MWL’s at its Expo2020 Dubai pavilion, attended by representatives of humanitarian and international organizations and media.

It emphasized the Islamic philanthropy partnerships as a key enabler of sustainable impact on the lives of vulnerable displaced communities, citing the longstanding collaboration with the MWL.

It pointed to the MWL’s Islamic Fiqh Council’s issuance of a new fatwa that adds to the Refugee Zakat Fund’s record of more than 10 fatwas by credible scholars and institutions.

In addition, MWL has generously contributed to support refugee and internally displaced children in Africa, in particular their recent contribution to support UNHCR’s psychosocial support for the most vulnerable children in North-east Nigeria, which is expected to help 3,699 internally displaced children by the end of 2021, the report stated.

UNHCR’s Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council states Khaled Khalifa underscored the importance of expanding strategic partnerships with organizations and bodies involved in Islamic Philanthropy to support international humanitarian efforts.

Khalifa, also a senior advisor for Islamic Philanthropy, said Islamic Philanthropy plays a pivotal role in responding to the growing humanitarian needs, through its key tools such as Zakat, Sadaqah and Waqf, to achieve shared humanitarian goals and explore further means to support forcibly displaced people globally.

This comes in light of the uninterrupted increase of forced displacement records in recent years and the protracted crises caused by wars, violence and persecution, he added.

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Gulf

Kuwait Court Concludes Major ‘Malaysian Fund’ Money Laundering Case

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation, in its final ruling, sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, ordered them to return $1 billion, and fined them $500 million (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kuwait’s Court of Cassation, in its final ruling, sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, ordered them to return $1 billion, and fined them $500 million (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
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Kuwait Court Concludes Major ‘Malaysian Fund’ Money Laundering Case

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation, in its final ruling, sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, ordered them to return $1 billion, and fined them $500 million (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kuwait’s Court of Cassation, in its final ruling, sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, ordered them to return $1 billion, and fined them $500 million (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on Thursday concluded the country's largest money laundering case, known as the “Malaysian Fund” scandal.

The court, led by Judge Saleh Al-Muraishid, sentenced Sheikh Sabah Jaber Al-Mubarak, son of the former Prime Minister, and his associates Hamad Al-Wazzan, Bashar Kiwan, and two expatriates to 10 years in prison.

A lawyer involved in the case received a seven-year sentence.

The court also ordered the defendants to return $1 billion and collectively fined them 145 million Kuwaiti dinars (about $500 million).

The “Malaysian Fund” case involves fake transactions and forged contracts between companies in Kuwait and China. Investigators from Malaysia and the US estimate that around $4.5 billion was embezzled from the fund since 2009, implicating the former Malaysian prime minister.

Kuwait’s Public Prosecution reopened the case after a two-year pause due to lack of information.

On March 28, 2023, the Criminal Court sentenced a member of the ruling family, his associates, and two expatriates to 10 years in prison, with a lawyer receiving seven years.

They were ordered to return $1 billion and fined 145 million Kuwaiti dinars.

The original case in Malaysia dates back to 2016 when US prosecutors filed a lawsuit to recover over $1 billion allegedly tied to a conspiracy to launder money from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, overseen by former Malaysian premier Najib Razak.

The funds were used to finance a Hollywood film, buy real estate, and acquire famous artworks.

In May 2020, the scandal surfaced in Kuwait after US defense officials provided information to the late Kuwaiti Defense Minister, Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad, revealing the involvement of several former officials in suspicious financial transactions for Chinese and Malaysian companies.

Investigations in Kuwait showed nearly $1 billion had been transferred into the account of an influential Kuwaiti figure before being rerouted abroad.

The inquiry linked a Malaysian financial expert accused in the case to the son of a former Kuwaiti Prime Minister, and they collaborated to channel the funds through intermediary companies.

On July 10, 2020, Kuwait’s Public Prosecution ordered the arrest of Sheikh Sabah Jaber Al-Mubarak and his associate in connection with the “Malaysian Fund” case.