Posted on 03/08/2007 5:49:44 AM PST by KeyLargo
Charity charged with funneling funds to Iraq
Columbia Islamic group, now defunct, is accused of sending $1.4 million during Hussein’s reign. By MARK MORRIS The Kansas City Star
A defunct Columbia charity and five officers and associates have been charged with illegally sending more than $1.4 million to Iraq while Saddam Hussein was in power.
The 33-count federal indictment, unsealed Wednesday in Kansas City, is the latest assault on a charity that in 2004 was designated a supporter of global terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and Hamas.
At its core, the indictment alleges the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA solicited cash from U.S. contributors and sent it to “persons and organizations” in Iraq. America had barred such transfers after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.
“IARA used the veil of its tax exemption to raise money and funnel it into Iraq,” said James D. Vickery, a criminal agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s St. Louis field office.
In addition to violating the Iraq sanctions, the charity and its officers are charged with money-laundering, theft of public money, and obstructing the administration of U.S. tax laws. The charges call for the group to forfeit $1.37 million.
The individuals charged:
•Mubarak Hamed, 50, the charity’s executive director from the early 1990s until October 2004. He has been a Missouri Department of Natural Resources environmental specialist since June 2002.
•Ali Bagegni, 53, a former Columbia educator and an IARA-USA board member and treasurer until October 2004.
•Ahmad Mustafa, 54, an IARA-USA fundraiser and native of Iraq.
•Khalid Al-Sudanee, 55, the Middle East coordinator for a related charity based in Amman, Jordan. The Department of the Treasury identified Al-Sudanee as a terrorism supporter when it froze IARA-USA’s assets in October 2004.
•Abdel Azim El-Siddiq, 50, an IARA-USA fundraiser and vice president for international operations.
Authorities on Wednesday arrested Hamed and Mustafa in Columbia, and Bagegni was detained in Iowa City, Iowa. All three were released Wednesday on bond, authorities said.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Gov. Matt Blunt disclosed that the Missouri Highway Patrol had participated in the investigation and that Hamed had been under surveillance for some time.
El-Siddiq, who lives in Palos Heights, Ill., was arrested by FBI and customs agents about 5 p.m. Wednesday as he stepped off a flight from the United Arab Emirates in Chicago.
Al-Sudanee remained in Jordan, though his extradition will be sought, said U.S. Attorney Brad Schlozman.
Shereef Akeel, a lawyer who has represented IARA-USA, said Wednesday he would vigorously defend against the charges.
He noted that two years ago, the organization was accused of supporting terrorists. Now, the organization is accused of misusing its tax-exempt status to send humanitarian aid to a country that was being crushed by international economic sanctions, Akeel said.
“All along, they drag the organization’s name through the mud, associating it with terrorism and the worst of the worst, and now it’s not true,” Akeel said.
“Now, they’re indicting the officers on criminal tax violations. We’re going to look at the allegations, examine them carefully and see what we can do to continue to fight.”
The indictment does not allege that the money was used for noncharitable purposes, but it says that Al-Sudanee “met with Iraqi military and other government officials” while in Iraq on behalf of IARA-USA.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, said other faith-based groups sent relief funds to Iraq during that period but were not charged or investigated.
“The question has been raised in the Muslim community as to why these charities are being targeted if there are no allegations that the money was used for terrorism or inappropriate purposes,” Hooper said.
Hooper also said he hoped this indictment would not discourage Muslims from giving to charity, an important pillar of the faith.
All financial transfers were barred under sanctions originally imposed by President George H.W. Bush in August 1990, and not lifted until May 2003, after the U.S.-led invasion ousted Hussein.
Charities could obtain a license to send goods or humanitarian supplies to Iraq, but IARA-USA never applied, Schlozman said.
Hamed told IRS and other federal officials the money would be spent on Iraqi refugees outside the country, Schlozman said.
“Hamed repeatedly lied to (Treasury Department officials) and the IRS about whether IARA was giving money to Iraq,” Schlozman said.
The indictment also alleges IARA-USA stole $84,922 from a $4.2 million federal grant intended for relief in the African nation of Mali. The charity used $50,000 of that stolen money to lobby the Senate Finance Committee in 2004 to remove IARA-USA from a list of charities under investigation for possible links to terrorism, the indictment charges.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, IARA-USA has had a troubled history. In October 2004, federal agents raided its Columbia offices, carting off truckloads of documents and computers. The same day, the Treasury Department froze the charity’s assets and said it was part of a global network of similarly named charities that supported terrorists.
Terrorism expert Steve Emerson said he was not surprised that little of Treasury’s terrorism information made it into the indictment.
“The government may not want to compromise any (intelligence) sources or methods,” Emerson said. “They may have felt the compromise required to prove the Hamas charge wasn’t worth the effort when they could get them on the (sanctions violation) charge.”
Wednesday’s indictment against the leadership of IARA-USA comes 29 months after the Treasury Department froze its assets. Such a lag is not unusual, experts said.
The assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development were frozen in December 2001. Federal authorities in Texas filed criminal charges against Holy Land’s leadership 31 months later.
While the IARA investigation has been long, it is not completed, Schlozman said.
“This investigation is very much ongoing,” Schlozman said. “We’re not done yet.” To reach Mark Morris, call (816) 234-4310 or send e-mail to mmorris@kcstar.com.
“The government may not want to compromise any (intelligence) sources or methods,” Emerson said. “They may have felt the compromise required to prove the Hamas charge wasn’t worth the effort when they could get them on the (sanctions violation) charge.”
IARA terror charity ping.
Thanks for the ping. Unfortunately it seems that much "charity" aid to Africa is being diverted in that manner--not just to terrorists but also for profit--have seen that happen with "AIDS funding", too. I have not seen any study of the full scope of such fraud but I suspect it runs into the multi-billion dollar range.
bump
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