27 November 2008

The Trustees and staff at Interpal have taken enormous encouragement from the nationwide support they have received following the formal notice served on the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) by Lloyd TSB to cease all dealings with Interpal.

Messages of support and expressions of outrage at this punitive measure have flooded into Interpal’s London office. Letters and messages of protest have been sent to both IBB – very much the victims in this affair – and to Lloyds TSB. While talks continue at a high level to rescind the notice, the fact remains that no explanation has yet been given as to why this action has been taken. Interpal has formally written to Lloyds TSB requesting an explanation and a meeting concerning this matter but to date, neither has been granted.

PRESS STATEMENT: 17 November 2008

Dear Friends,

Due to the overwhelming support Interpal has received on this matter, this statement is being released for further circulation and clarification. On the November 12, Interpal received notification from their bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), that Lloyds TSB (their clearing bank) has served notice on IBB to cease all dealings with Interpal. Clearing banks are responsible for the processing of all financial transactions and Lloyds TSB is one of the 4 clearing banks in the UK which all high street banks must work through. The notice comes into effect on 8 December 2008 and has the potential to force Interpal to cease operations early next month.

After this time “all transactions into or out of Interpal accounts will be blocked and IBB will be at further risk of all its customer payments being suspended”. To date, despite pressures from Lloyds, IBB has offered Interpal its full support but it remains threatened by Lloyds’ demands.