UK gave £700,000 in COVID furlough payments to six IRGC-linked UK charities

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

An investigation by the JC revealed that more than £680,000 in COVID furlough payments were handed out to mosques and educational centers linked to the IRGC; they note that there is no suggestion that this was unlawful

With the recent attack by Iran on Israel and the stabbing of an Iranian dissident two weeks ago, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under pressure to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

The IRGC, or part of it, is already considered a designated terrorist organization in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Sweden, Israel, and the United States.

A cross-party group of over 100 MPs and lords sent a letter arguing for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization to Sunak on Wednesday.

The IRGC's office in London

The Islamic Centre of England (ICE) in London is one of the charities named in the report. ICE was described by a member of the UK's foreign select committee as the "IRGC's office in London," receiving just under £250,000 of furlough money over the course of two years.

The Charity Commission is currently investigating the center after its director, whom Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed, called anti-regime protestors "soldiers of Satan."

Several other centers from across the UK that received furlough payments venerated Qassem Soleimani after he was killed in 2020.

The Islamic College of London (ICL) received nearly £205,000 in furlough and is...