Pop ambitions ... Waffa
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By EMILY SIMPSON
CURSED with the world’s most notorious surname, Waffa bin Laden was a natural subject for FBI investigation in the days following the September 11 attacks.
Especially as Waffa, niece of Osama and a wannabe pop star, had left her New York home just days before the atrocity orchestrated by her uncle.
But the sultry brunette had spent years living in the city and was horrified by the attacks — her plush apartment had boasted a magnificent view of the World Trade Center.
She told American TV: “All I thought about was those people in those buildings. I couldn’t get hold of my friends.
“Every night I’d walk home looking up at the Twin Towers.
“I even have pictures of myself there with my friends.”
She said: “I kept thinking, how can anyone do such a thing?”
FBI agents scoured her old apartment for evidence, according to the current occupants.
Dad ... Yeslam Binladin heads
Saudi investment firm in Geneva
The young professionals, who asked not to be named, said the agents left no stone unturned.
One said: “The Feds told us Waffa’s previous address had to be scrutinised because she left so suddenly before the atrocities and because of the family connection.”
But Waffa has always embraced the freedoms of the West — the slim beauty smokes, drinks and wears designer clothes, including mini-skirts.
She even spells her surname differently — Binladin.
She studied law at New York’s Columbia University and had been trying to launch a pop career, recording songs in a Manhattan studio in the weeks before September 11.
A friend said she was spending an “outrageous amount of money” trying to get her record produced.
But she left the city just as she seemed on the verge of accomplishing her pop dream.
A pal told a magazine: “Why she left town before finishing her recording is a mystery.”
After the Twin Towers attack, Waffa moved to the family’s £1million apartment in South Kensington, West London.
The grand entrance hall, guarded by a French concierge, is plusher than most top hotels around the world.
A Jewish property developer who lives in the building told The Sun: “I didn’t know I have members of the bin Laden family living in the same block as me. It chills me to the bone. Then again, I suppose it’s the safest place to be.”
Mum ... Estranged Carmen fears
for the safety of daughter Waffa
As The Sun sensationally revealed last week, Waffa was trying to kick-start her pop career in Britain before war broke out in the Gulf.
She had been working with Madonna’s producer Nellee Hooper and met with John Benson, former manager of All Saints.
Benson said: “I was asked to listen to some of her stuff.
“She has a very dusky and sultry voice and real potential.”
Waffa launched herself on the London party scene, regularly being seen in low-cut dresses in trendy clubs like China White.
She’s been spotted partying with millionaire Robert Hanson, Green Shield Stamps heir Tim Jeffries, and Rafic Said — nephew of the billionaire arms broker Wafic Said.
Rafic told The Sun: “She is a lovely looking, charming girl, I have met her four or five times.”
Waffa joined stars, including Rod Stewart, Natalie Imbruglia and Phil Collins, at a charity function hosted by jewellers Garrards.
And last week she was pictured at a Save The Children Fund bash at top restaurant Nobu on the arm of Robert Hanson.
But pals say her efforts to break into showbiz were put on hold when hostilities started in the Gulf.
She is fleeing Britain to be near her parents in Switzerland.
Uncle ... Evil al-Qa'ida terror
chief Osama bin Laden
One said: “She is laying low. She is absolutely terrified. I have been told she is going back to Switzerland.
“She felt she couldn’t step outside her home in London. Just imagine if you had her surname.
“This is a life or death situation. There are a lot of extremists out there and Waffa is a target for both sides.”
Her dad Yeslam is one of Osama bin Laden’s 24 brothers. Head of the family’s Geneva-based Saudi Investment Company, he is thought to be worth £30million. He says the last time he saw his notorious half brother Osama was in 1986. He is a fierce critic of the terrorist chief.
Waffa’s mum Carmen was born of Swiss Iranian parents. She and Yeslam are estranged and embroiled in a highly acrimonious divorce battle.
It was Waffa’s grandfather Mohammad who established the family fortune through lucrative construction deals with the Saudi royal family, building them hospitals, motorways and palaces.
Waffa was born an American citizen as dad Yeslam was studying at the University of California. She holds both US and Swiss passports. The youngster grew up in Switzerland amid opulence and splendour in a £16million mansion overlooking Lake Geneva.
She wanted for nothing in a world of chauffeured Rolls-Royces and armed bodyguards and went to an exclusive £15,000-a-term finishing school near Montreux.
Home ... The Manhattan apartment Waffa Binladin left behind
Picture: SPLASH
Friends described her as “headstrong, wilful and independent” — ignoring her father’s attempts to instil in her Arab values of modesty and virtue.
With a £10,000 annual clothes budget, She was always a party girl and a regular at top Swiss nightspots in Montreux, Geneva, Zurich and Bern.
But she had brains as well as beauty, studying law at Geneva University before going on to Columbia for her three-year doctorate. That was followed by an internship at law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel. She enjoyed the New York party scene and lived near stars like Matt Damon, Meg Ryan and Cindy Crawford.
Waffa used to shop at Big Drop — a trendy clothes shop across the street from her apartment.
A store assistant said she would spend thousands of dollars there every week.
She added: “She was always slim and well-groomed and quite attractive. She liked clothes.”
After September 11, Waffa’s mum Carmen spoke out against the family on the American telly channel ABC.
Carmen claimed the bin Ladens and sections of the Saudi royal family gave financial backing to the terrorist leader.
They strongly deny the allegations and claim Carmen was motivated by her desire to achieve a better divorce settlement. Carmen said of her daughter: “I worry for her safety but I support her freedom.”
A spokesman for Waffa confirmed she was shaken by media attention this week as war broke out and the last thing she wanted to do now was promote a record.
But he said her return to Switzerland was a pre-planned visit to see her family.
Of the FBI investigation in her old apartment, he said: “Waffa would absolutely expect the FBI to have undertaken such an investigation in the circumstances.
“Her views on her uncle are well known and she has absolutely nothing to hide.
“In fact, she and her mother are in regular contact with the American government because Waffa is, after all, an American citizen.”
Ambitious Waffa may be keeping a low profile for a while but one thing’s certain — it won’t last.
