Two senior terrorist financiers are alleged to be living freely in Qatar - despite the Gulf state's claim that it does not support terrorist groups.

Khalifa Muhammad Turki al-Subaiy and Abd al-Rahman bin Umayr al Nuaymi are reportedly living in the country's capital Doha, according to a US official.

In a transcript of a keynote speech in Washington, obtained by the Sunday Telegraph, David Cohen - the under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence - confirmed their residence.

He accused Qatar and its near neighbour Kuwait of being 'permissive jurisdictions for terrorist financing' - but so far the fate of these bankers has not been known.

However, the US Treasury told the newspaper it could not disclose further classified information on the men.

Al-Nuaymi, 60, was last month added to a list of suspects targeted with financial sanctions in the UK after the Government confirmed he is banned from doing business in Britain.

It comes 10 months after the US authorities imposed sanctions on him, saying al-Nuaymi was a 'terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade'.

The US Treasury said he oversaw the transfer of over 2 million US dollars (£1.25 million) per month to al-Qaeda in Iraq for a period of time.

While al-Subaiy, 49, who was a former employee at Qatari Central Bank, was outed as a terrorist fundraiser in 2008 when he allegedly served a brief prison sentence.   According to the official US report he has 'provided financial support to al-Qaeda' on behalf of the group's senior leaders, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

While it is alleged that both men have been kept out of jail thanks to their links with senior figures in Qatar.

Qatar, which has huge investments in the UK, insists it does not support jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq operating out of the Gulf.

The country introduced a designated terrorist list but so far not one person has been added to it.