The Aga Khan, The Bahamas and The Trudeaus

How the Aga Khan manipulated the Canadian government for obtaining $310 million in grants from taxpayers’ money from 2004-2016, bought the most expensive island in The Bahamas for $100 million while himself ‘donating’ $1 million to the Bahamas National Trust, and called the Canadian PM and the Liberal Party leaders for a vacation to the same island.

Over the last few days, you might have seen headlines about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking a schmoozy vacation with spiritual leader and billionaire Aga Khan. Trudeau may have unfairly used taxpayer dollars for a luxurious holiday trip, and may have created a number of conflicts of interests by accepting gifts from someone whose organization receives money from the Canadian government.

On December 26, 2016 Trudeau and his family left on a holiday vacation to Bell Island—-a small portion of the Bahamas owned by the Prince Shah Karim al-Hussaini, also known as the current Aga Khan. The Aga Khan amassed his fortune through a continuation of his family’s wealth, as well as running a number of lucrative businesses—the most well-known of which are his investments into horse racing.

The Aga Khan Foundation Canada is set up as a philanthropic organization, which the Toronto Star revealed had issues raised against by the Canadian Tax authorities due to lack of transparency (Read more: How Dasond, Mehmani and Donations are used by Hazar Imam: Stunning Facts Revealed by Toronto Star and Bloomberg).

A couple of decades back, Aga Khan also used the Aga Khan Foundation and his religious establishments to smuggle millions of dollars across the US-Canadian border. One such attempt was exposed by Canadian Border Security Agency and was subject of a documentary “God’s Money” aired on CBC.

Trudeau first flew to the Bahamas from Montreal via a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) jet, and later, by a personal helicopter owned by the Aga Khan to his $100-million personal island.

Shockingly, the Aga Khan uses donations received by the Canadian and other governments, together with the tithe money (dasond) gained from his religious followers for his own personal interests. The Bell Island too, when purchased by Aga Khan in 2012 was the subject of a controversy since Aga Khan caused a major ecological disruption damage while dredging the sea to accommodate his yacht and building a marina at Bell Island. (Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2081533/Aga-Khan-sails-eco-storm-purchase-private-tropical-island-Bahamas.html). A Bahamian commentator complained that ‘The ecological value of Bell Island is lost forever while the Bahamas National Trust benefits from a $1million donation from the Aga Khan’. One can see how Aga Khan gains the tax payer money from the governments and uses the same money to bribe the authorities who can benefit him.

The Bell Island is in the Exumas which falls within the boundaries of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.  The $100 million Island is the most expensive island in the Bahamas. As a comparison, Eddie Murphy purchased a 15-acre island in The Bahamas for $15 million.

According to Trudeau, when questioned about the ethics of accepting a trip from the head of an organization that received $55 million in Canadian funds for foreign aid programs in Afghanistan last year, the Aga Khan is a “long-time family friend” who was the pallbearer at his father’s funeral, and he argues that the vacation was strictly personal.

Attending non-Muslim funerals is strictly forbidden by the Quran and visibly demonstrated by the Prophetic traditions.  Abu Taalib, the paternal uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) died, and he instructed ‘Ali to bury him, but the Prophet (pbuh) did not attend his funeral or his burial, even though Abu Taalib’s support and defence of the Prophet (pbuh) was well known, and even though the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) felt a great deal of compassion and mercy towards him.

Members of Liberal Party also ‘entertained’ by Aga Khan

The National Post reported that both Liberal Party president Anna Gainey, and Liberal MP Seamus O’Reagan, were also on the trip with the prime minister.

When asked about their presence on the trip at a press conference Tuesday, Trudeau declined to comment, but the PM Office has since confirmed to the National Post that both Gainey and O’Reagan were on the trip. O’Reagan has said that he seeks to personally reimburse the Aga Khan for any costs incurred, and is not putting it on the taxpayer’s tab, while questions over Trudeau’s use of public funds remain an attack point for critics.

On Monday, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer filed a complaint with the Parliamentary Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, arguing that the prime minister had violated his duty in keeping conflict of interests away from the PMO.

“The Prime Minister of Canada must be held to the highest standard which is why I have called for this investigation. As a former Speaker of the House of Commons, I take the rules that MPs must follow very seriously. We need to know if it is appropriate for Trudeau to accept gifts from someone whose foundation receives funds from the Government of Canada.” – Andrew Scheer, Conservative Party MP

Trudeau, regardless of the fact he’s been a longtime friend of the Aga Khan, is the leader of Canada—a country which has given the Aga Khan Foundation Canada $310 million since 2004. That alone is a reason to not take a vacation on the privately-owned island of a billionaire whose organization lobbies your workplace for cash.

Sources:

Toronto Star – https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/01/06/trudeaus-trip-to-aga-khans-private-island-kept-secret-to-protect-privacy-pmo-says.html

http://www.vice.com – https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/justin-trudeaus-controversial-vacation-with-the-aga-khanexplained Author: Jake Kivanc (https://twitter.com/kivancjake)