Posted on 06/07/2003 6:17:00 AM PDT by knighthawk
WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department moved Friday to block the financial assets of Abdelghani Mzoudi, a suspected member of the al-Qaida cell in Germany that is believed to have planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Mzoudi is among the 17 new people — all foreigners — that the government added to its list of entities suspected of helping to bankroll Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network.
The action by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control means that U.S. banks must block any assets found in the United States that belong to these people.
Treasury said the 17 names have been forwarded to the United Nations, which keeps its own list of entities suspected of financing terrorist activities. It would be up to the United Nations to add the names to its list, which is followed by member countries.
"These designations signal continued commitment and momentum within the international community," Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a statement.
Treasury said Germany was designating Mzoudi as a terrorist financier. Prosecutors in Berlin charged Mzoudi last month as an accessory in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The other 16 individuals named Friday were also being designated as terrorist financiers by Italy. Treasury said those 16 individuals are believed to be associated with the Algerian-based Armed Islamic Group. Many of those 16 are listed as having been born in Tunisia.
German and Italian authorities had no immediate comment.
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