NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, November 5, 2001

Abdulla Noman, who works for the U.S. Department of Commerce issuing visas in Saudi Arabia, was arrested Thursday in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room. He is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for obtaining visas for Saudis, authorities said.

Federal authorities in Las Vegas and New Jersey are investigating whether there are any ties between Noman and the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Review-Journal reported that an informant cooperating with a New Jersey-based FBI investigation told agents that he paid Noman more than $3,000 in 1998 to get a U.S. visa under false pretenses.

Agents in Newark, N.J had been investigating Noman for sometime and tracked him to Las Vegas last week. He was arrested Thursday after he met with the same informant and accepted a bribe in exchange for a visa, authorities said.

Attempts on Sunday by United Press International to reach the Saudi embassy in Washington were unsuccessful.

Fifteen of the 19 suicide hijackers who participated in the attacks came to the United States from Saudi Arabia. All 15 had obtained American visas, according to authorities.

Prosecutors told the newspaper that more information about the case would be revealed at Noman's detention hearing, scheduled for this week.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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