A U.S. congressional committee is investigating the alleged China-linked funding of a leftist group that has organized pro-Palestinian protests in the United Kingdom.
The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), is reportedly investigating more than $330,000 in alleged payments to a company tied to feminist grassroots organization Code Pink from firms linked to Neville Roy Singham, a former tech mogul who has been accused of funding left-wing nonprofit groupss and promoting Chinese propaganda. Singham is based in Shanghai, China.
Code Pink has frequently hosted protests against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the ongoing U.S. war in Iran. The group finds itself at the center of the U.S. investigation, reported by the Telegraph, over its ties to Singham.
“It’s clear from the Ways and Means Committee investigation that Singham’s money and influence does not stop at America’s borders,” Smith told the British newspaper. “The committee is well aware that Singham’s funding is supporting pro-Hamas and pro-communist causes not only in the United States, but also overseas, including in the United Kingdom.”
Besides receiving money from firms connected to Singham, Code Pink is connected to the businessman and activist in a key way: His wife, Jodie Evans, co-founded the feminist group.
Since its publication on Thursday, the report has prompted several members of Parliament to call for British investigations into this alarming trend.
“The U.K. needs to work with the U.S. to investigate the payments, their influence and who is ultimately responsible. We need to present a united front with the U.S. and show zero tolerance,” Labour MP Sarah Champion said.
“The Government must urgently investigate these networks and make full use of the National Security Act to prosecute any unregistered individuals working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party,” Conservative MP Alicia Kearns added.
In an article for the Telegraph published Friday, Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith warned of the threat that China poses to Britain.
“The reality is that to protect ourselves the Government must be honest,” he wrote. “We are at war but hamstrung in dealing with the threat. The reality is that we must now place China in the upper tier of FIRS (the foreign influence registration scheme) and in so doing define China as a threat which is what our Security Services want and need.”
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Apart from the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has expressed concerns about Singham’s China-linked funding of Code Pink with the Department of Justice.
Separate from the congressional investigation, the DOJ opened a federal grand jury investigation into Singham’s alleged financial crimes related to financing leftist activism throughout the United States.