Posted on 12/23/2003 9:18:13 PM PST by Destro
U.S., Saudis Oppose Al Qaeda-Linked Bosnia Group
Mon December 22, 2003 06:28 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Saudi Arabia have asked the United Nations to add a Bosnia-based representative of a nongovernmental organization to its list of groups tied to al Qaeda, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday.
The Treasury said the U.N. was asked to name Safet Durguti, who represents an organization called Vazir in Travnik, Bosnia, to a list that makes him subject to travel and other sanctions.
In a statement, Treasury said both countries also asked the U.N. to list Vazir as simply another name for Al Haramain, a Saudi-based charity that was placed on the U.N. list in March 2002.
It said the new nongovernmental organization, Vazir, was formed in May 2003 as an association for sport, culture and education, but was based in the same business space as Al Haramain.
Juan Zarate, deputy assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing, said the joint action underscored the threat Saudi Arabia sees to its stability from groups supporting terror as the cooperation between both governments in fighting the threat.
The United States also named Hochburg AG, based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, as a successor organization to a company called BA Taqwa that was previously named a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2002 by the U.S. Treasury.
BA Taqwa had its assets frozen, under U.N. sanctions, in 2002.
A Treasury release said that Hochburg and BA Taqwa share the same business registration number and said records in Liechtenstein indicate that BA Taqwa was renamed Hochburg AG early in 2002.
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