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Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002

A Saudi official said the announcement was made to correct what he called misconceptions about Saudi cooperation, or lack thereof, in the worldwide attempt to choke the flow of money to terrorist groups such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

'Out of Control'

"For too long, Saudi Arabia has been wrongly accused of being uncooperative or ineffective in combating terrorism," said Adel Al Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah. "The unfounded charges against Saudi Arabia have gotten out of control. We recognize that it is now incumbent on us to more openly articulate our anti-terrorism policies and actions."

While announcing the new measures, the Saudis acknowledged some of the billions of dollars that annually flow through Saudi organizations might have ended up in the hands of terrorists.

Last week, it was reported that money from Princess Haifa al Faisal, wife of the Saudi ambassador to Washington and daughter of the late King Faisal, might have indirectly benefited two of the 19 terrorists who last year crashed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Saudi authorities denied the princess knowingly sent money to Khalif al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi. She had, however, sent money to a Saudi woman on her charity list who endorsed at least one check to the wife of a man who gave the two cash to rent an apartment before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which were blamed on al-Qaeda.

'Charity' Burns at Home

U.S. officials and anti-terrorism experts have long believed Saudi "charities" have been a major source of financing for al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Ties between the two allies have soured since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. So was al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before Saudi authorities stripped him of his citizenship.

Washington says Riyadh is not cooperating enough in the war on terrorism and has pointed to Saudi Arabia's promotion of Islamic fundamentalist schools in other countries. Some graduates from these schools end up in organizations such as al-Qaeda.

A U.S. group composed of families of some of the Sept. 11 victims claims to have proof that members of the Saudi royal family have had financial dealings with al-Qaeda, and are suing for $116 trillion.

The Saudi Embassy said Tuesday that some of the new measures were enacted over the past year as part of an extensive program the kingdom has launched to counter terrorism.

Some of the steps announced Tuesday aim to control charitable funds, prevent money laundering and improve multilateral cooperation. The embassy said King Fahd had been "on the forefront of the war on terrorism" and was cooperating fully with the United States and other countries.

The embassy said Saudi Arabia has recently completed a thorough review of its charitable organizations and has made changes. All charities are now subject to extensive audits to ensure the money provided by donors are used for their intended purposes.

Charities whose activities extend beyond Saudi borders must now report and coordinate their activities with the Foreign Ministry.

Saudi Arabia also established a High Commission for oversight of all charities, and is in the final stage of setting up detailed operational procedures to track all donations to and from the charities.

The Saudi government believes these combined changes will substantially decrease its charitable sector's vulnerability to "abuse by evil-doers," the official announcement said.

'Naive' About 'Generosity'

"Probably the most significant new action we have taken has been in the area of charitable giving," Al Jubeir said. "In the past, we may have been naïve in our giving and did not have adequate controls over all of our donations. As a consequence, some may have taken advantage of our charity and generosity."

The steps announced Tuesday will end the misuse of the funds given as charity, he said.

Saudi Arabia also announced plans to reinvigorate the joint Counter-Terrorism Committee with the United States. The committee, which covers intelligence and law enforcement, will now also include financial experts to minimize the possibility of the terrorists misusing charity.

Saudi Arabia has also toughened its laws and regulations regarding money laundering. Acknowledging it needs to "do more" to stop money laundering, Al Jubeir said the kingdom has "augmented anti-money laundering units in every Saudi bank."

"We are increasing the resources and training for these units," he said.

Saudi Arabia recently established a permanent committee, which includes representatives of government agencies, to manage legal and other issues related to money laundering.

"Saudi banks are no longer permitted to open accounts for non-resident individuals without specific approval from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority," Al Jubeir said.

Action

The embassy said the king froze the accounts of suspected individuals and has initiated investigations of transactions that suspects linked to al-Qaeda might have undertaken in the past. The information from these investigations has been shared with U.S. authorities.

In the summer of 2002, Saudi Arabia and the United States took joint action and froze the assets of Wael Hamza Julaidan, an associate of bin Laden, who provided financial and logistical support to al-Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia's intelligence and military cooperation has led to the breakup of at least three al-Qaeda cells and the arrest of key commanders of the network, including Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, the planner of the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa.

Saudi Arabia has investigated bank accounts suspected to be linked to terrorism and has frozen 33 accounts belonging to three individuals and one institution totaling $5,574,196.

The United States and Saudi Arabia shut down the Somali and Bosnian branches of Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, which U.S. officials suspected were infiltrated by al-Qaeda terrorists.

However, after investigations Saudi and American officials determined that the Saudi headquarters of this private charitable entity is dedicated to helping those in need and allowed it to function under official surveillance.

Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia also has helped identify a network of companies and organizations that bin Laden used to move money around the world, the embassy said. The companies were located in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. A sophisticated network that wove through more than 25 nations was uncovered.

"Today, that network is substantially handicapped," said the official announcement.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to fight the scourge of terrorism and will do so with vigilance and determination for as long as it takes," Al Jubeir said.

Copyright 2002 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Al-Qaeda
Middle East
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