London landlord accused of funding terrorist group ISIS with Covid loans

A former pub landlord from London, has been accused of funding ISIS terrorist group, with thousands of pounds worth of Covid loans.

The 42-year-old man, named Tarek Namouz, is now facing eight charges for funding terrorist group Islamic State in Syria and two counts of possessing terrorist information related to videos, for a period covering from November 2020 to May 2021.

The covid loan initiative which aimed to support businesses during the pandemic has since caused the UK Government to face allegations of “complacency over fraud” with the National Audit Office estimating that around £17 billion worth of covid loans will nor be returned, as well as a further £4.9bn lost to fraud.

The accused former landlord, who only spoke to confirm his identity, faced the court at Old Bailey from Wandsworth jail via video link, with Prosecutor Jonathan Poland stating that the accused had sent “the proceeds of coronavirus bounce back funding loans to ISIS”.

Judge Justice Sweeney stated that the case was serious and would be passed on to Judge Peter Lodder at Kingston, with a plea and case management hearing being set on July 22, with a two week trial on November 21.

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