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Hamza defied order freezing assets by passing flat to son
Last updated at 07:52am on 01.11.06
Hate preacher Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza defied a Treasury order freezing his assets and transferred his £220,000 flat to his son, it emerged today.
Mohammed Kamel Mostafa was handed the property in Hammersmith, west London, while his father was under police investigation.
See also:
• Security blunder led to Hamza's terrorist son working on underground
Senior police sources said Mostafa - Hamza's eldest son - should have been the subject of an asset-freezing order.
Hamza sold his former council flat in Hammersmith in September 2004 for £228,000 and a bought a four-bedroom house in Greenford, west London, for £220,000 while in Belmarsh prison.
The race hate preacher's accounts had been frozen by the Treasury in 2002 after a request from the United Nations sanctions committee, which had accused him of helping to support terrorism.
Ed Balls, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, claims the Government was powerless to prevent Hamza exploiting a loophole by passing the property to his eldest son.
Because Hamza received no money in the house transfer three years ago, no criminal offence under anti-terror orders had been committed - leaving the authorities powerless to act.
In a leaked letter, Mr Balls wrote: "At all times our regime acted to prevent the risk of funds being diverted to terrorism."
Theresa Villiers, shadow secretary to the Treasury, described the revelation as 'scandalous'.
Reader views (4)
I thought you could not sell a council property for 7 years after having it bought it for a fraction of its real value?
- Terry Sentonaris, Hounslow, UK
Well Ed Balls has certainly made it clear that there is one law for Abu Hamza and one for us.
- Pat, Sussex
Nice to see Ed Balls coming under the spotlight because, after all, he'll be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer when Blair has cleared off and handed his job on a plate by Prudence. But it's also mighty revealing that Ed (is that `voter-friendly' short for Edward?) has moved ever so smoothly into `it's not my fault, guv' mode, like the rest of the New Labour shambles of a Government.
- Ted, Shetland
Surely the transfer is subject to capital gains tax on the recipient? If I want to pass money to my son, I was under the impression that I could give £8,500 annually without penalty - anything over that amount is subject to capital gains? Or Inheritance tax? Are the Hamza family subject to the same laws as those of us who work hard, abide by the law and don't have much to show for it at the end of the day?
- Ab, London
