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Arabia
England's five-star World Cup hotel linked to Qatari government agency accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars to jihadists... with the FA's links to the Gulf nation under more scrutiny
2022-02-13
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • England’s World Cup hotel was built by a Qatari government agency accused of funding Al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria (Al Nusra Front)

  • Tivoli Souq Al-Wakra hotel was bankrolled by Qatar’s Private Engineering Office

  • PEO was named in the High Court as alleged source of jihadist money laundering

  • It was claimed conspiracy was driven ‘by members of the Qatari ruling elite’

  • Gareth Southgate wants to base his squad at the five-star beach resort this year
FA sources have pointed out that they are limited to hotels sourced by FIFA, who produce a list of bases for the 32 tournament qualifiers to pick from. The Souq Al-Wakra hotel was built in 2015 specifically for the World Cup.

A High Court lawsuit launched last June accused the PEO of funnelling money to Al-Qaeda through artificially inflated construction contracts in Syria in a conspiracy masterminded by the Qatari government and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Sunni Islamist organisation.

The conspiracy was driven ‘by high-ranking members of the Qatari ruling elite’ and provided funds to ‘actively support and facilitate’ Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists including the jihadist Nusra Front in the Syrian civil war, the High Court claim alleges. The PEO was central to the operation according to the High Court claim, receiving orders direct from Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The Qatari government and all the defendants, who include former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, have categorically denied the allegations, with Al-Thani’s representatives branding them baseless. Neither the FA or FIFA would comment on an ongoing court case.

The High Court claims against companies involved in the World Cup construction projects will lead to even more scrutiny of FIFA’s decision to award the tournament to Qatar.
Posted by:Skidmark

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