US Freezes Funds Of 3 Linked To Al-Qaida

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration acted Monday to financially paralyze two foreign entities and an individual believed to be providing money for al-Qaida's terror network.

The Treasury Department added to its list of suspected terrorist financiers: Vazir, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Travnik, Bosnia; a key representative of the group, Safet Durguti; and Hochburg AG, a company located in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

The department's designation freezes any of the three's financial assets in this country. It also means they are prohibited from conducting financial transactions in the United States and bars Americans from doing business with them.

The United States and Saudi Arabia also asked the United Nations to add the three names to its blocking list, which is honored by member countries, the Treasury Department said.

Juan Zarate, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said that Vazir is picking up where the closed Bosnia branch of Al Haramain, a Saudi-based charity, left off. That branch of Al Haramain was put on the U.S. list of terrorist financiers last year, which is aimed at severing the group from the U.S. banking system.

Treasury said Durguti helped to open the Vazir office this year in the same location as the former office of Al Haramain.

Hochburg AG sprung up as the successor organization to BA Taqwa for Commerce and Real Estate Co. Ltd., which the United States also put on its list of terrorist financiers last year, Treasury said.

Youssef Nada, who was put on the U.S. blocking list in 2001 and had a controlling interest in BA Taqwa, ``maintains an ongoing interest in the liquidation of Hochburg,'' Treasury said. Hochburg and BA Taqwa share the same business registration number, the department said.

Discussing al-Qaida's financing, Zarate said: ``I think the notion of al-Qaida having a big pot or stash of money somewhere is sort of a false assumption. Al-Qaida generates its funds constantly in part through these charities, in part through big donors,'' he said.

``We are convinced that we have cut down the flow of funds to al-Qaida. ... To say that we've cut off all fund flows to al-Qaida would be incorrect. ... Even $2,000 available to al-Qaida, in our minds, is too much,'' Zarate added.

On other terror financing matters, Zarate said the United States continues to work closely with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan to turn over Iraqi assets found for Iraq reconstruction. Zarate would not say how much money in Iraqi assets has been found in the three countries.

Zarate characterized as ``gross overestimations'' media reports that $2 billion to $3 billion in Iraqi assets were stashed in Syria, but he refused to provide an estimate.

Zarate characterized as ``gross overestimations'' media reports that $2 billion to $3 billion in Iraqi assets were stashed in Syria, but he refused to provide an estimate.

We have yet to see the full scope of this but attitudes are changing over there...

3 posted on 12/22/2003 7:54:13 PM PST by tubebender (Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see...)

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