One who repents from riba (usury or interest): is it permissible for him to give the profits to those who wish to be treated with them?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: One who repents from riba (usury or interest), is it permissible for him to give the profits to those who wish to be treated with them?

Answer:
If he repents from riba (usury or interest) and has profits that have accumulated with him, he gets rid of them by placing them in public projects. If he gives them to the needy, there is nothing wrong with it, as a means of getting rid of them. This is not in the category of voluntary charity, but in the category of lost money that has no owner. However, if he has repented and says, "I will take the profits from the bank and give them in charity," that is not permissible for him. If he has repented, he leaves them and does not take them. But the discussion is about the one who has repented and the money is with him; he gets rid of it by placing it in beneficial projects or giving it to the needy as a means of getting rid of it, not as voluntary charity. Yes.