The Council of the mosques of the Rhone denounces the closing of the accounts of tens of Moslem institutions of the department and their benefactors, evoking a banking apartheid which lasts according to him since several years.
In the Rhne sector, dozens of mosques under construction (or extension) have had their bank accounts closed, said Kamel Kabtane, president of the Council of the Mosques of the Rhne (CMR), in a press release published earlier this week.
Mr. Kabtane cites in particular the cases of those of Croix-Rousse Lyon, as well as those of Villeurbanne, or even Dcines-Charpieu, in the Lyon metropolitan area.
In addition, he adds, massive closures of bank accounts of individuals who have participated in the construction of mosques have recently been observed in the subsidiaries of certain banks, without any justification.
The rector of the Othmane mosque in Villeurbanne, Azzedine Gaci, confirms to AFP that this situation has been going on for several years. Five years, at least, so that it completely paralyzes the work and the general life of the mosques.
According to him, all the banks are concerned, in particular La Poste and BNP-Paribas.
No reason was given by the banks when the accounts were closed, adds Azzedine Gaci, who nevertheless suspects the work of Tracfin, the government agency responsible for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism or banditry.
Already last November, Mr. Kabtane was worried about the closure of many accounts, suspecting the large amounts of cash deposited each month on these accounts – according to him to finance works – to be the origin.
In any case, these are discriminatory measures, judge Azzedine Gaci.
We cannot continue to banish French Muslims from society and at the same time tax them with separatism, protests Kamel Kabtane, calling on the name of the CMR for the president (…) to put an end to this legal ignominy which deprives religious institutions and French citizens of their fundamental rights.
Contacted by AFP, BNP-Paribas does not wish to comment on the individual situations of its customers, but ensures that each situation is studied in terms of knowledge of customers, in compliance with regulatory obligations.
In the same spirit, La Banque Postale says, it reserves the right to close association accounts in order to comply with its regulatory obligations.
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These measures are not taken at the request of the public authorities, but on the initiative of the banks as part of their vigilance in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, reacted the Minister of Finance in a statement sent to AFP .
Bercy specifies, however, that the closing of accounts can however be marred by errors of assessment which would make them completely unjustified.
A dialogue has been initiated between the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Finance and the stakeholders to call on the banks to find amicable solutions with the associations concerned, adds Bercy.
The Minister recalls that individuals and associations already have the possibility of exercising their right to an account, whereby the Banque de France appoints an operator who will be forced to open a bank account for them.
In addition, a source familiar with the case at Place Beauvau indicated that the Minister of the Interior supports Mr. Kabtane in his approach.