Spanish Police Detain Second Muslim in Two Days Believed Connected to Al-Qaida Financial Network
By Jerome Socolovsky Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 24, 2002
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Spanish police moved against Osama bin Laden's terror network on Wednesday, arresting a second suspect accused of channeling hundreds of thousands of dollars to at least five al-Qaida operations.
At a news conference with the chief of Interpol, Spanish Interior Minister Mariano Rajoy laid out a detailed case against a "network of businesses that devoted part of their profits to al-Qaida." The suspect arrested Wednesday and two others in custody sent some $600,000 to Islamic radicals linked to bin Laden in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, China, Turkey, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories, Rajoy said.
Syrian-born Ghasoub al-Abrash al-Ghalyoun was detained in Madrid early Wednesday and police said he was an associate of another Syrian-born Spaniard, Muhammed Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi, also known as Abu Talha, who was taken into custody Tuesday. They described Abu Talha as a major al-Qaida financial figure and believe both men operated with Bassan Dalati Satut, who was arrested in Spain in November.
Spain has been a major focal point of the international investigation launched after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
U.S. officials regard Spain's capture of Muhammed Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi as particularly significant, said one official, speaking in Washington on the condition of anonymity.
He is regarded as a major terrorist financier, and has been financially linked to al-Qaida members throughout Western Europe, including some members of the Hamburg cell that is believed to have organized the Sept. 11 attacks, the official said.
Using a police flow-chart to show al-Qaida's money transfers, Rajoy said cash was sent to five al-Qaida operations led by:
- Imad Yarkas who was jailed in November and accused of recruiting for al-Qaida and participating in preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks.
-Mamoun Darkazanli, a Syrian-born businessman in Hamburg, Germany who was described by Spanish police as "belonging to the most intimate circle of Mohamed Atta." He allegedly received the equivalent of $15,240.
- Nabil Nanakli Kosaibati, a former resident of Spain jailed in Yemen for an alleged attempted attack on one of Yemen's leaders. He allegedly received close to $14,000.
-Mohamed Bahaiah, also known as Abu Khaled, whom Rajoy described as bin Laden's courier between Afghanistan and Europe. He allegedly received $95,800.
- Nabil Sayadi, a Belgian resident whom Rajoy said used the alias Abu Zeinab and was a close associate of Wadih el-Hage, convicted in the United States for his role in the deadly 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa. He allegedly received $180,000.
The rest of the money was sent to mosques and Islamic centers in Syria, Afghanistan, Germany, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian territories and the United States, Rajoy said.
He spoke to reporters after a meeting in Madrid of Interpol and Europol representatives.
Interpol's Secretary General, American Ronald Noble, told reporters the organization had drawn up an "international terrorist watch list" that includes several thousand people wanted around the world for terrorist activities.
The latest arrests follow the April 14 detention of a 57-year-old Algerian man, Ahmed Brahim, suspected of being an accountant for al-Qaida in Spain. Rajoy said there was no evidence to link Brahim with the two arrested this week.
Meanwhile, there were al-Qaida-related arrests in Germany, Lebanon and the Netherland.
Dutch police arrested four Algerians suspected of membership in the Salafist Group for Call and Combat - a militant Algerian group linked to al-Qaida.
"The suspects offered logistical support to a holy war against enemies of Islam," by providing false identification papers, housing and money to associates planning attacks, the Dutch prosecutor's office said in a statement.
In Germany, authorities arrested a man suspected of being the 12th member of a Palestinian militant group officials say was planning attacks in Germany. Eleven other suspected members were taken into custody Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the group, identified as Al Tawhid, and allegedly run by a London-based Palestinian cleric, was "on the brink of attacks," possibly against Israeli or U.S. targets in Germany.
Authorities in Lebanon detained a Palestinian man suspected of belonging to groups that provide funding for al-Qaida, Lebanon's prosecutor general said.
Ali Mahmoud al-Hajj, who holds a Swedish passport and lives in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, was detained Monday at Beirut International Airport, prosecutor Adnan Addoum told The Associated Press.
Addoum said al-Hajj was wanted in several European countries in connection with fund-raising for the Islamic Mujahed Movement, a group close to the Lebanese-based group Asbat al-Ansar that the U.S. State Department says has links to al-Qaida.
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