Bush to crack down on al Qaeda financial assets
November 7, 2001 Posted: 8:57 AM EST (1357 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- CNN has learned the administration has identified two financial networks, an Islamic money exchange known as Al Taqua, and another worldwide network of informal money exchanges, known as hawalas, that it views as significant sources of support for the al Qaeda terrorist organization, U.S. government sources said.
President Bush will identify the networks Wednesday, and announce that efforts are under way to freeze their assets and shut down their operations in the United States and overseas, the sources said.
Approximately 50 to 60 individuals and organizations are expected to be targeted as part of these two networks, a senior government official said.
Bush will make the announcement 1:30 p.m. at an event at the Treasury Department task force headquarters. Sources said the task force is charged with trying to identify and disrupt the financial network of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
Al Taqua is not believed to have any assets in the United States, but is believed to have money in banks in Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and the Bahamas, and possibly other countries. The four places named have already agreed to act on the U.S. order to freeze Al Taqua's assets, the sources said.
Officials would not name the second network, other than to say it is a worldwide hawala network, which has businesses in 40 countries, including the United States.
"We believe that al Qaeda has been skimming off that network," a government source said. Describing the network as a "Western Union of sorts," one U.S. official said that al Qaeda helped found this network and fund it, and that it gets a percentage of every money transaction that takes place.
This step is "taking down an infrastructure and a network that they continue to rely upon," said a senior administration official.
The officials declined to name the organization or provide any specifics on the operation because, in the words of one, "this is happening in real time heading up to the president's event and we need to be careful so that we don't say anything that will do harm to the effort at hand here."
A second official said the targets were "two financial networks used to fund al Qaeda" and said the operation to be announced Wednesday involved actions in the United States and overseas.
"I would use the term financial networks as opposed to assets," this official said, "and the operation is to hopefully shut them down."
Bush will also announce Wednesday a new dollar figure on the number of accounts that have been frozen so far in the United States and overseas. U.S. officials would only say it will be a "significant increase" above the $24 million announced weeks ago.
So far, more than 80 individuals and corporations have been targeted by the United States.
-- From CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King and White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace. |
