The Brothers Behind Bars Facebook group says their business account was used to collect ‘charity funds’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A bank account used to raise money to support Australians charged with terrorism offences has been shut down by the ANZ.

The Brothers Behind Bars Facebook group claims their business account, which was only opened a couple of weeks ago, was used to collect “charity funds”.

The page, which is run by hardline preachers Junaid Thorne and Wissam Haddad, posted a statement saying they had been given no opportunity for an appeal.

“No specific reason was provided for the closure but I’m sure many of you can read between the lines,” the post said. “Meanwhile far-right groups are free to conduct business as usual.”

The group claims the account only ever received less than $1000 in the short time is was open and despite the “setback” they would move forward to continue the “good fight”.

In the ANZ bank notice posted on the Facebook page, the bank said it had exercised its discretion to close the accounts and would forward a bank cheque for the net balance of the account.