Posted on 12/24/2004 9:52:16 AM PST by knighthawk
Chancellor Gordon Brown has ordered the Bank of England to freeze any UK assets of an alleged al Qaida supporter believed to be living in London in exile from Saudi Arabia.
Mr Brown made the move against Sa'ad Al-Faqih and his Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia after he was named by the United Nations as an associate of al Qaida.
The Treasury said in a statement: "The Chancellor today instructed the Bank of England, acting as HM Treasury's agent, to direct all UK financial institutions to freeze any funds held for or on behalf of the entity, the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) immediately.
"The action has been taken because the Treasury have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the organisation is acting on behalf of Sa'ad Al-Faqih, who was listed by the UN as an associate of al Qaida."
A Treasury spokeswoman said the move also meant any funds belonging to Al-Faqih would also be frozen.
This means that any funds held by MIRA or Al-Faqihin the UK cannot be released. It is now a criminal offence for any financial institution to hold or facilitate funds held by them.
The Treasury said the asset freeze was authorised under the Al Qa'ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2001.
Several such freezes have been ordered by the Treasury this year as part of the war on terror.
The Treasury spokeswoman said banking confidentiality meant the extent of an individual or group's frozen assets - if any - could not be divulged.
Ping
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