Moroccan Charity, Najiba Foundation, Faces Account Termination by ING Bank for AML Failures

Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING) wants to terminate one of the largest Moroccan charity foundation accounts due to shaky administration, unreliable accountants and money laundering rules. 

ING intends to close the bank account of the Najiba Foundation, one of Morocco’s leading charitable foundations that recently collected funds for earthquake victims. The Islamic charitable foundation claimed to receive over €900,000 in donations for those affected. It is now on the edge of being closed owing to unstable administration, an untrustworthy accountant, and failure to follow ING money laundering requirements, according to a report on September 15th. 

ING announced that the foundation’s bank account would be closed on October 28th for failing to comply with banking standards aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. According to investigations, multiple events may make it challenging for ING to accept the Najiba Foundation as legitimate. The foundation, for example, never filed authorised financial records with the Chamber of Commerce, Morocco. Previous charity efforts, such as Project Eid-ul-Adha, which received €273,000 in donations, are not included in the records as well. Furthermore, the charity collaborates with accountant Chris T., who is a primary suspect in a multi-million dollar forgery involving COVID-19 funds.

Mourad Baddou, the charity’s chairman, recruited lawyer Jasper Hagers of Fennek Advocaten for the lawsuit. The latter collaborates with lawyer, Lisa Jie Sam Foek, to guarantee that the donations arrive safely in Morocco. 

ING was allegedly informed of these unfortunate incidents, Hagers stated, “An improvement plan has been put in place, which the foundation is now implementing. In addition, Najiba has asked to talk about ways to improve, but ING needs to respond. “ Jie Sam Foek said that if the bank closes the account, “it will mean the end for the foundation. But it’s even worse for the people of Morocco, who now need all the help they can get.” The ING, on the other hand, has not spoken on the issue. Nonetheless, if the two parties fail to reach a settlement quickly, the case trial will begin in Amsterdam District Court. 

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