In the past, when other sponsors of the RIS convention made the headlines for negative reasons, it was generally for their support of jihad and terrorism.
Omar Kalair, the president and CEO of UM Financial, is wanted by the RCMP in relation with a sharia banking fraud investigation. Videos of previous RIS conventions available on YouTube show that UM Financial sponsored the Toronto Islamist convention in 2005 and 2006. A profile of Omar Kalair posted on a Wilfrid Laurier University alumni’s website indicates that, during his years as student in Economics, “Kalair founded the Muslim Students’ Association [MSA] and remained its President for four years.” The MSA was the first organization established by the Muslim Brotherhood in the sixties when its supporters started to settle in North America. A 2007 NYPD report described the MSA as an “incubator for radicalism” (p. 68 – Archives PdeB).
Tu Thanh Ha (The Globe and Mail – February 19, 2014)
RCMP charge missing Toronto financier with $4.3-million mortgage fraud
“The RCMP has filed fraud charges against a Toronto Islamic financier who went missing after he allegedly pocketed $4.3-million in mortgage payments from Muslim homeowners and used the money to buy himself gold bars, silver coins and electronics.”
“Omar Kalair portrayed himself as a trailblazing entrepreneur who, as a middleman, could offer mortgage arrangements to devout Muslims who believed that they were forbidden under Islamic law from making interest payments.”
“Mr. Kalair’s two federally registered firms, UM Financial Inc. and UM Capital Inc., collapsed two years ago, leaving more than 170 homeowners in the lurch.”
“The RCMP’s Greater Toronto Area Financial Crime Unit announced on Wednesday that the 38-year-old Mr. Kalair is facing criminal charges of theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and laundering proceeds of crime.”
“The investigation, which was conducted with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, also resulted in three charges under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of fraudulent disposition of bankruptcy property, failure to comply and failure to answer truthfully.”
“Also charged with the same counts is a 55-year-old Mississauga man who has been described as Mr. Kalair’s religious adviser, Yusuf Panchbaya.
Mr. Panchbaya is to appear at the Old City Hall courthouse on Feb. 21. The RCMP has issued a Canada-wide warrant for Mr. Kalair’s arrest.”
The rest of the article is available on the Globe and Mail’s website and on Web Archive.
Tareq Suwaidan, Hamza Yusuf, Michael Lerner, Ustadh Yahya Rhodus, Robert Fisk, and Siraj Wahhaj address the 2006 RIS convention in front of a sign of UM Financial, the sponsor of the event that year.
UM Financial appears on the banner of the RIS 2005 convention as a sponsor of the event. The theme of the conference on the banner (‘Islamic Civilization’) is used to confirm the year of the convention.
On February 19, 2014, the RCMP posted a notice indicating that UM Financial founder Omar Kalair is wanted in relation with a $4.3 million fraud investigation.
Further reading
Point de Bascule (December 6, 2012): Justin Trudeau keynote speaker for Islamic Relief in Toronto (Islamic Relief was a sponsor of RIS 2012)
Point de Bascule (December 12, 2012): Hamas’ fund collector, IRFAN Canada, is added to the list of sponsors for the Islamist convention in Toronto
Point de Bascule (December 12, 2013): Reviving the Islamic Spirit – In 2003, the launch of the RIS conventions in Toronto was sponsored by an organization tied to Al-Qaida
