LONDON: British politician and former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage on Thursday received an apology from a private bank over the closure of his account, but the entire episode left some raising questions about the silence and lack of support surrounding bank account closures linked to British Muslims.

Mr Farage made headlines in the United Kingdom this week after Coutts, a private wealth management company catering to royals and the ultra rich, had shut his accounts with no explanation. It prompted Tory MPs and even the prime minister to criticise the move as “wrong”.

This week, the Brexit campaigner released documents obtained from the bank, which stated it was concerned about Mr Farage’s “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” and believed maintaining his accounts posed a risk to the bank’s reputation. The Chief Executive of the Natwest Group, of which Coutts is a part, apologised for the “deeply inappropriate comments” made about Mr Farage in an internal report.

But the scandal has prompted some to draw parallels between Mr Farage’s bank account closure scandal to the close of scores of accounts linked to Muslim individuals and Muslim charities in the UK.

Nobody cares when British Muslims have their bank accounts closed, writes journalist Peter Oborne

Several news reports in the last decade covered how British NGOs such as the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, international development charity the Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT) and the Cordoba Foundation thinktank had their HSBC bank accounts closed because banks said their accounts fell “outside of our risk appetite”. Though Muslims called this out at Islamophobia at the time, the bank denied the accusations and defended its decisions.

Writing for Middle Eastern Eye, prominent British journalist and broadcaster Peter Oborne compared Mr Farage’s banking conundrum with that of British Muslims, saying “Welcome to the world of British Muslims.”

He drew attention to the articles he had written about the closing down of Muslim charities accounts, and how little space they got in newspapers as compared to Mr Farage’s case.

“Contrast the Westminster reaction when a Muslim loses her or his account — total lack of any interest, let alone concern, but when Farage supposedly loses his, Fleet Street has an attack of the vapours.”

He continued, “I can’t help comparing the alacrity with which the government has gone into battle on behalf of Farage to its total indifference to the fate of British Muslims and others over many years. This shows two things: first and foremost, the structural Islamophobia which has long poisoned British media and politics. When Muslims have their bank accounts closed, nobody cares. When the same thing allegedly happens to Nigel Farage it’s close to a national scandal.”

Not everyone agrees with the comparison. Wasiq Wasiq, an academic and counter-terrorism commentator, told Dawn. “‘The closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account, based on his political views, sets a dangerous precedent — that if your views do not align with those of the organisation, then you are not welcome to bank with us. This can have an impact on not only prominent political figures, but also the general public.

“However, the closure of accounts is something banks are entitled to do. Nearly a decade ago, it was widely reported by the BBC, Guardian and the Independent that HSBC closed the bank accounts of prominent Muslims and Islamic NGOs. At the time, the accusation levied against HSBC was that the decision was based on ‘Islamo­phobia’. But the decision to close the accounts was because they fell ‘outside of our risk appetite’.

“It is important to note, because of the regions these organisations were working in, they were vulnerable to exploitation by money launderers and terrorists seeking to use them for financing purposes. This risk is not the same as the potential risk of Nigel Farage having an account with Coutts. To conflate the two, makes a mockery of when banks act in a way that could affect the average Brit, as opposed to organisations being vulnerable to exploitation by money launderers and terrorists.”

UK banks are free to deny services to customers for a number of reasons, including suspicions over financial crime. Banks can also choose to close or refuse an account if they believe customers pose a risk to their reputation — one of the key reasons Coutts cited for shutting Nigel Farage’s account.

Mr Farage has had the support and sympathy of several key people in government who criticised Coutts and asked for an explanation, with some ministers saying a new law could be drawn up to prevent banks closing accounts of people because of their political views.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023