Five Whitehall buildings held by wealthy businessmen now operating under Sharia rules
By Charlie Cooper and Brian Johnston, Independent:
The historic Admiralty House and four other Whitehall buildings are now operating in accordance with some sharia rules – including a ban on alcohol – after they were used as part of an Islamic bond scheme.
The properties must comply with some aspects of sharia under the terms of special bonds known as sukuk, announced by George Osborne two years ago when the UK became the first Western country to issue them.
At least £200m of the sukuk bonds have been sold to investors in the UK and the major Islamic finance centres in the Middle East and Asia.
Under sharia, charging interest – or usury – is forbidden. So to allow Islamic investors to receive a return on their money, the sukuk bonds pay them rental income on certain buildings instead.
As part of the deal, the Government agreed that the nominally rented buildings would abide by certain aspects of sharia rules, so Muslim investors did not feel they were making money out of something they regard as immoral, such as a pub.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
