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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (200706)	11/7/2001 10:49:37 AM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

U.S. Freezes Terror Network Assets By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent Wednesday November 7 9:45 AM ET WASHINGTON (AP) - In a global crackdown, the Bush administration on Wednesday froze assets of Osama bin Laden's financial networks in at least nine countries including the United States, where ties to the terrorist mastermind were found in four states. The names of 62 entities and people were added to a list of suspected terrorist associates targeted by President Bush in an executive order signed last month. He planned to announce the new cases at the Treasury Department later Wednesday. The new list of targeted entities, provided by the Treasury Department, covers groups and people affiliated with two suspected bin Laden financial networks - Al Taqua and Al-Barakaat. Both are informal, largely unregulated money exchanges - often called hawalas - that authorities believe funnel money to al-Qaida through companies and nonprofit organizations they operate. The Al-Barakaat organization has ties in several countries, including the United States. The order cites affiliated organizations in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Ohio and Washington. The North American affiliates include: -Aaran Money Wire Service Inc. of Minneapolis. -Al-Barakaat Wiring Service of Minneapolis. -Barakaat Boston of Dorchester, Mass. -Barakaat Enterprise of Columbus, Ohio. -Barakaat North America Inc. of Dorchester, Mass., and Ottawa, Ontario. -Barakat Wire Transfer Co. of Seattle. -Global Service International of Seattle. -Somali International Relief Organization of Minneapolis. In addition, the United States moved to freeze the assets of two people with American residences, Liban Hussein of Dorchester, Mass., and Gerad Jama of Minneapolis. Hussein also has a Canadian address. The list targets assets in several countries, including Somalia, Liechtenstein, the Bahamas, Sweden, Canada, Austria, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. The administration is urging goverments to freeze the assets in banks within their borders. Even before Bush spoke, action was taken. Italian police searched the homes of two men identified by the Italian news agency ANSA as the founders of Al Taqua: Youssef M. Nada and Ali Himat. They were described as president and vice president, respectively, of Nada Management Organization in Lugano, Switzerland. The searches were conducted in Campione D'Italia, a tiny Italian enclave in Switzerland, said Maj. Roberto Riccardi, spokesman for the paramilitary Carabinieri police in Rome. He declined to give further details. The news report said the operation was carried out on request of a Swiss magistrate investigating alleged links between the company and bin Laden's al-Qaida network. In the Bahamas, officials said they had already shut down a bank cited by the Bush administration, but not because it was suspected of having ties to bin Laden. Investigators believe bin Laden has used the Al Taqua and Al-Barakaat networks to funnel hard-to-trace dollars outside the traditional banking system. The companies, nonprofit groups and money exchanges also act as fronts - buying material and supplies shipped off to terrorists. The order clamps down on the assets of Al Taqua co-founders Nada and Himat. It also names Mansour-Fattouh of Zurich, Switzerland, and Hussein Abdullahi Kahie of Somalia. Three companies also were named: Youssef M. Nada and Co.; Al Taqua Management Co. in Switzerland; and Al Taqua Bank in the Bahamas, which has already moved against the bank. A task force headed by Treasury, the CIA and the FBI has investigated the targeted Islamic money exchanges with an eye toward breaking them up and seizing their assets. The investigation is part of President Bush's effort to dry up terrorists' money supplies. He was announcing the action against Al Taqua - and perhaps other groups - at the Treasury Department on Wednesday. dailynews.yahoo.com * * *