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The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, March 21, 2002
By Jerry Guidera and Glenn R. Simpson
WASHINGTON -- Federal antiterrorism agents raided 14 homes and businesses affiliated with a wealthy investor and political donor who serves as chairman of an Islamic mutual fund.
Acting on sealed warrants, Treasury Department and Federal Bureau of >Investigation agents seized records from locations used by M. Yaqub Mirza, including a Georgia poultry plant and several offices in the Washington suburbs. No arrests were made and no assets were frozen. Treasury Department officials declined to discuss the raids, saying only that they pertained to Operation Greenquest, a Customs Service operation to cut off funding for terrorism.
Mr. Mirza is chairman of the board of Amana Mutual Funds Trust, a no-load mutual-fund company with about $43 million in assets and publicly traded funds that says it invests according to Islamic principles. At least one of the addresses used by the fund and other entities associated with Mr. Mirza, 555 Grove St. in Herndon, Va., was raided yesterday.
"They're on a wild goose chase," said Phelps McIlvaine, an executive at Amana investment adviser Saturna Capital, which has a nearly 20-year relationship with Mr. Mirza. Messages left for Mr. Mirza yesterday weren't immediately returned. Saturna, of Bellingham, Wash., handles all calls to Amana. Mr. McIlvaine said he is confident the Amana funds aren't tied to terrorism. "The most transparent, well-documented, well-regulated place in the world is mutual funds," he said.
Investigators appear be most interested in Mr. Mirza's role as an officer of the Saar Foundation, a nonprofit started in the 1970s by members of Saudi Arabia's al-Rajihi family, which has interests in banking, construction, and real estate.
The group was established by Muslim scholars and scientists from the Middle East and Asia to raise money for antihunger campaigns, educational and technology projects in developing Islamic. For example, Saar has helped establish one of the largest poultry farms in Zimbabwe and built schools in Ivory Coast. Records show the U.S. arm of Saar was dissolved in December 2000, after posting $12.5 million in assets. The group has raised more than $1.7 billion, in its 17 years in the U.S.
Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project, an antiterrorism watchdog in Washington, said officials are trying to determine if Saar was used to build a terrorist-funding network in the U.S. "There's a suspicion that this group was involved in money laundering for al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups," he said. A person familiar with the government inquiry said the links are under investigation.
The raid coincided with the filing of a lawsuit in Hillsborough County, Fla., by a former Justice Department prosecutor who alleges that Saar or other entities at 555 Grove St. provided funding for groups set up by Sami Al Arian, a former University of South Florida professor whom the Justice Department says is linked to the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The 555 Grove St. address has also been used by the International Institute for Islamic Thought, a nonprofit that U.S. investigators have linked to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Mr. Mirza is listed in business records as an officer of numerous companies, including Sterling Management Group, MarJac Investment Inc., and Hadid Holdings Inc.
Background:
DR. M. YAQUB MIRZA
Dr. M. Yaqub Mirza has been President and CEO of Sterling Management Group, Inc. (“SMG”) since 1998, of Sterling Advisory Services, Inc. since its inception, and President and CEO of MarJac Investments, Inc. (“Mar-Jac”) since 1995. From 1987-1995, he served as Executive Vice President of MarJac. MarJac makes proprietary investments in U.S. and foreign securities and provides international business management services. MarJac and its affiliates operated in the United States, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
Dr. Mirza also served as Vice President (1984-1994) and President (1995-2000, the year it was dissolved) of the Saar Foundation, a Virginia not-for-profit corporation. Since 1984, Dr. Mirza has been actively negotiating mergers, acquisitions and sales of various sized companies and real estate projects located in different parts of the world. After many of the acquisitions, Dr. Mirza is involved as director and officer in the development of the acquired company or real estate project by evaluating top management to maximize efficiency and profitability and then restructuring, streamlining or expanding the same. In addition, Dr. Mirza has more than 20 years of experience in stock investments and portfolio management involving assets ranging from $1-$10 million.
Dr. Mirza has served as a Trustee and Treasurer and later as Chairman (1987-February 2003), and is now an Advisor to the Board of Trustees of the Amana Mutual Funds, which are registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission as an open-end investment company and managed by Saturna Capital Corporation. In addition, Dr. Mirza currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jugos Concentrados, S.A. (“Jucosa”), a Chilean producer of juice concentrates, traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange. He also serves on the Board of numerous other companies. He served on the Board of Mylex Corporation, a NASDAQ listed, world leader of RAID technology and network management products from December 1988 until September 1999 when Mylex was acquired by IBM for $240 million.
Dr. Mirza holds a M.Sc. from University of Karachi (1969), a Ph.D. in Physics (1974) and M.A. in Teaching Science (1975) from University of Texas at Dallas.