UK freezes charity's accounts as part of terror probe

LONDON: Britain's charity watchdog said Thursday it has frozen the accounts of Crescent Relief as part of a probe into allegations that the charity was linked to a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.   

The Charity Commission, the regulator for England and Wales, said in a statement that "a formal inquiry has been launched into the charity Crescent Relief and its bank accounts frozen."   

"The inquiry follows recent allegations of links between Crescent Relief and terrorist abuse of charitable funds," it said in a statement to AFP.   

The Charity Commission told AFP last Saturday it was evaluating media reports of links between the charity and the alleged conspiracy to blow up US-bound planes which British police said they foiled on August 10.   

The Times newspaper said that Crescent Relief, which mobilized for the October 8 earthquake in Pakistan, was founded in 2000 by the father of Rashid Rauf, who has been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the plot.