19 April 2002
U.S. Blocks Assets of 10 More Terrorism Financiers
(Treasury Dept. links groups to al Qaida, Usama bin Laden) (1190)
The U.S. Treasury Department has blocked the assets of nine
individuals and one organization that, it says, are linked to the
terrorist activities of Usama bin Laden and the al Qaida network.
Following is the text of the Treasury fact sheet issued April 19 to
explain the action:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Office of Public Affairs
April 19, 2002
Designation of 10 Terrorist Financiers
Fact Sheet
"Today we block the finances of an assortment of terrorists involved
in financing and carrying out bombings, kidnappings and murder. We
will continue to expose and shut down these thugs wherever we find
them." -- Treasury Secretary Paul 'Neill
Today the Department of Treasury designated nine individuals and one
organization, all linked to al Qaida and Usama bin Laden, under
President Bush's Executive Order 13224 and took blocking action
against them. Today's action will block all assets these entities have
in the United States and prohibits any financial interaction between
U.S. persons and these entities and individuals. Including today's
designation, the Department of Treasury has blocked the assets of 202
entities and individuals. 161 countries have joined us in issuing
blocking orders against these groups and individuals and $104 million
has been frozen worldwide. $34 million of that has been blocked
domestically in the United States with the remaining $70 million
blocked by our international partners.
1. THE AID ORGANIZATION OF THE ULEMA
When President Bush initiated the financial war on terrorism in
September 2001, the al Rashid Trust was among the first organizations
named as a financial facilitator of terrorists. The organization
changed its name to The Aid Organization of the Ulema (AOU) and
remains active. The AOU is headquartered in Pakistan, and continues to
operate offices there. They have been raising funds for the Taliban
since 1999. This designation captures the re-named office and
identifies additional locations of other branch offices in Pakistan.
2. NASREDDIN, Ahmed Idris
Ahmed Idris Nasreddin provides direct support for Youssef Nada and
Bank Al Taqwa, both of which were designated as terrorist financiers
by the Department of Treasury on November 7, 2001. On the same date,
Treasury named four additional individuals as terrorist financers
connected to al Taqwa: Zeinab Mansour-Fattouh, Mohamed Mansour, Albert
Friedrich Armand Huber, and Ali Ghaleb Himmat. The al Taqwa group has
long acted as financial advisers to al Qaida, with offices in
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and the Caribbean. Ahmed Idris
Nasreddin and Youssef Nada are both founders and directors of Bank Al
Taqwa. Usama bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization received
financial assistance from Youssef Nada. Al Taqwa provides investment
advice and cash transfer mechanisms for al Qaida and other radical
Islamic groups.
3. Es Sayed, Abdelkadir Mahmoud
An order for preventive detention of Es Sayed, an Egyptian national,
has been issued in absentia by the prosecutor's office in Milan,
Italy. He has been indicted for participation in a criminal conspiracy
to traffic in arms, explosives, chemical weapons, identity papers, and
for aiding illegal immigration. Es Sayed is considered to be the
organizer of al Qaida's Milan cell. Numerous wiretaps have been
collected by investigators in the past months which show that Es Sayed
was in contact with the leadership of al Qaida. In one of the
conversations, he says that he had been sent to Milan to reorganize
the "Muslim brothers" who were hit by the investigations starting in
the early 1990s. Es Sayed was convicted in Egypt for the massacre at
Luxor in which 58 foreign tourists were killed.
4. AL-FAWAZ, Khalid
Khalid Al-Fawaz was indicted in the United States for conspiring to
bomb the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The United States is
seeking his extradition from the United Kingdom. Al Fawaz was sent to
London by Usama bin Laden in1994, where he set up an office to serve
as a conduit among various al Qaida cells.
5. AL-MASRI, Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza al-Masri identifies himself as the Legal Officer for the
Islamic Army of Aden, the terrorist organization that claimed credit
for the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The President designated the
Islamic Army of Aden as a financier of terrorism when he launched the
financial war on terrorism on September 24, 2001. In written
statements, Hamza seeks support and backing for jihad against the
Yemeni regime and the return to Islamic law. The Islamic Army of Aden
has taken responsibility for the kidnapping of foreigners, including
the kidnapping of 16 tourists in December of 1998, that resulted in
the killing of three Britons and one Australian. In interviews, Hamza
has endorsed the killing of non-Muslim tourists visiting Muslim
countries.
INDIVIDUALS LINKED TO SALAFIST GROUP FOR CALL AND COMBAT
The following four individuals are members of an al Qaida cell
operating in Italy that carried out logistical tasks in collaboration
with similar groups active in Germany, the United Kingdom, and
Algeria. The cell is part of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat,
an Algerian terrorist organization that continues to terrorize North
Africa. The President designated the Salafist Group for Call and
Combat as a financier of terrorism when he launched the financial war
on terrorism on September 24, 2001. The Salafist Group for Call and
Combat was designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization on March 27, 2002.
6. Aouadi, Mohamed Ben Belgacem
Aouadi, a Tunisian national, has been convicted in Italy and is
serving a five-year term in prison for being part of a group involved
in trafficking of arms and explosives. He acted as a liaison with the
Algerian-Spanish cell of al Qaida and was the man who procured the
false documents for other al Qaida cell members.
7. Bouchoucha, Mokhtar
Bouchoucha, a Tunisian national, has been convicted in Italy and is
serving a five-year term in prison for being part of a group involved
in trafficking of arms and explosives.
8. Charaabi, Tarek
Charaabi, a Tunisian national, has been convicted in Italy and is
serving a four-year term in prison for being part of a group involved
in trafficking of arms and explosives.
9. ESSID, Sami Ben Khemais
Essid has been convicted in Italy and is serving a five-year term in
prison for being part of a group involved in trafficking of arms and
explosives.
10. Ben Heni, Lased
Ben Heni, a Libyan national, served as a liaison between the al Qaida
cell in Italy, led by Ben Khemais, and the cell in Frankfurt that was
dismantled in December 2000, before it was able to carry out an attack
in Strasbourg. He has been indicted for participation in a criminal
conspiracy to traffic in arms, explosives, chemical weapons, and
identity papers, and for aiding illegal immigration. He was arrested
in Germany in October and then extradited to Italy. At the time of his
arrest, he bragged that he had been trained in the same camps
frequented by Usama bin Laden.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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