DOSSIER: Aqeel Abdulaziz Al-Aqil
Submitted by Templar Titan on Thu, 06/17/2004 - 18:30.
Saudis continue to pump money to Al Qaida abroad while fighting it at home
Aqeel Abdulaziz Al-Aqil is an apt symbol of Saudi Arabia's commitment to the war against terrorism. He was fired four months ago as director of Al Haramayn Islamic Foundation, the leading terrorist financier to Al Qaida and related groups. But Al-Aqil hasn't gotten the message. He still works in Al Haramayn's Riyad office where he continues to pump millions of dollars to Al Qaida in Europe and Africa, apparently with the encouragement of his superiors in the Saudi royal family,. |
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"That's the way the Saudis work," a U.S. counter-terrorism official said. "They try to satisfy us with rhetoric but nothing changes." As a result, Saudi authorities battle Al Qaida in the kingdom while Riyad pours huge amounts of money to Al Qaida and related groups around the world. Saudi officials and ministries have ignored their own ban on Al Haramayn and the closure of branches in such countries as Bosnia. "It's doubtful as to whether there has been a major change even in direct Saudi involvement in the financing of terrorism," said Guy Bechor, a leading Israeli researcher on Islamic insurgency groups who often briefs U.S. analysts. "The Saudis have always bought terrorism, and as long as it is not perpetrated on their territory, they continue to do so today. There is evidence that Saudi Arabia is still engaged in direct and indirect funding for Palestinian organizations, including Hamas," he said. In all, officials said, Al-Aqil has transferred up to $50 million in funds through Al Haramayn branches that had been declared as closed. Saudi authorities have neither arrested nor charged Al-Aqil, despite being under investigation for the last six months. In March, Saudi Arabia announced its dismissal of Al-Aqil, replaced by Dabbas Al-Dabbas. Since then, however, Al-Aqil has continued to transfer funds to Al Qaida and Al Ittiyad Al Islamiya through Al Haramayn, Saudi and U.S. officials said. "Mr. Aqil has attempted to evade Saudi controls on his finances, and we have worked with the Saudi government to ensure that he can no longer wield control over Al Haramayn and its resources," said Juan Zarate, the U.S. Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. Publicly, the Bush administration has praised Saudi announcements as a demonstration of the kingdom's efforts against Al Qaida. But privately, most U.S. counter-terrorism officials acknowledged the disconnect between official Saudi words and actions. On May 28, the FBI, U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Joint Terrorism Task Force raided the World Assembly of Muslim Youth in Alexandria, Va. Federal agents reportedly seized computer hard drives and files. Bin Laden's nephew, Abdullah, founded the Saudi organization. U.S. officials acknowledged that a ban announced by the kingdom in 2003 on the transfer of charity funds abroad has been ignored. They described a Saudi government-sponsored and -administered charity that ordered its employees to flout the kingdom's decision to halt activities abroad and conceal financing of Al Qaida and related groups under a different guise. In 2003, Saudi Arabia said it closed two branches of Al Haramayn outside of the kingdom. But Saudi and U.S. officials said Al Haramayn has continued to operate in Europe. Even Saudi officials acknowledged that Al Haramayn continued to transfer money to Al Qaida despite sanctions in 2002 and a Saudi ban on Al Haramayn activities abroad the following year. They acknowledged that Al-Aqil has ignored previous sanctions on Al Haramayn and relayed up to $50 million to Al Haramayn branches abroad after the government in Riyad ordered a suspension of such activities. "When the investigation is complete we will take the appropriate steps," said Adel Al Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. A U.S. Treasury Department statement said Al Aqil ordered Al Haramayn employees to maintain financing of Al Qaida operations through the charity's office in Bosnia. In 2002, Saudi Arabia and the United States designated Al Haramayn's office in Bosnia a terrorism financier. "After the AHF [Al Haramayn Foundation] branch is Bosnia was designated in 2002, it immediately began efforts to avoid these sanctions," the Treasury statement said. "Despite the joint efforts of the United States and Saudi Arabia to designate the Al Qaida-affiliated AHF Bosnia branch office, and the subsequent raid of this office by Bosnian authorities on June 3, 2002, all AHF employees were ordered to avoid cooperating with Bosnian and other authorities under Al Aqil's leadership." In 2003, Al Haramayn's headquarters in Saudi Arabia ordered its Bosnia branch to violate local and international counter-terrorism laws and regulations regarding the financing of groups deemed terrorist, officials said. Al-Aqil ordered the Bosnia branch to change its name to "Vazir" and continue to finance Al Qaida operatives. Saudi Arabia insisted that it has frozen Al-Aqil's assets, estimated at more than $30 million, and prevented him from leaving the kingdom. But U.S. officials dismissed the Saudi claim and said Al-Aqil maintained control of millions of dollars in Saudi funds. Indeed, they said, Al-Aqil still controlled Al Haramayn funds. Saudi Arabia has responded to the failure to stop Al-Aqil and Al Haramayn the way it has done over the last two years. Riyad simply announced new measures against Al Qaida. Last week, Saudi Arabia and the United States designated five additional branches of Al Haramayn as financiers of Al Qaida. The branches designated were based in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Netherlands and relayed to the United Nations. Riyad also said the kingdom plans to establish a commission to audit the flow of Saudi money to Islamic charities abroad. The new group, the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad, would oversee the resumption of charity funds outside the kingdom, said to have been suspended in 2003. For his part, Al-Aqil has ignored the Saudi decisions against him. Instead, he said he would defend himself against the U.S. designation that he is a terrorist financier. "I intend to file a judicial appeal and be represented by a lawyer in the United States to counter an American decision to carry my name on a list of those who finance terrorism," Al-Aqil said. "These accusations are wrong and we will prove it." Al Haramayn has also ignored the assertions of the Saudi government that the foundation ignored previous decisions by Riyad. The new chief of Al Haramayn, Al-Dabbas, said the charity operates only in Saudi Arabia in accordance with government regulations. "We have given up the foundation's work abroad, and work is exclusively dedicated to inside [Saudi Arabia] at the request of the Saudi government," Al-Dabbas said. Source: Geostrategy
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