By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
An alleged top financier for Osama bin Laden’s al Qai’da network sat on the Board of a now-defunct Bahamian bank, a US Senate report released on Tuesday reveals.
Buried deep in the US permanent subcommittee’s report on HSBC is the claim that Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi, head of Saudi Arabia’s largest private bank, sat on the Board of Akida Bank, which was described as a Bahamian financial institution.
Al Rajhi Bank, Mr Rajhi’s institution, was alleged by the Senate report to have been used as a conduit to channel funds to Islamic extremist groups, while the man himself was said to have been named among al Qai’da’s so-called ‘Golden List’ - its Top 20 financiers - on documents seized in 1992.
Drawing on documents from the US Treasury Department and a discontinued lawsuit by a Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate, the US Senate report linked Mr Al Rajhi to two former Bahamas-based institutions - Bank al Taqwa and Akida Bank.
Both are now defunct, having been placed on a US Treasury list as alleged terror financiers in 2002. The allegations were vehemently denied at the time by both institutions and their Bahamian attorneys.
“In 2011, a civil lawsuit filed by an insurance syndicate against Saudi Arabia and others seeking to recover insurance payments made after the 9-11 terrorist attack discussed two of those suspect banks, Bank al Taqwa and Akida Bank Private Ltd,” the US Senate report said in relation to Mr Al Rajhi.
The lawsuit alleged that two former Bank Al Taqwa executives, Ibrahim Hassabella and Samir Salah, were associated with the SAAR Foundation, an entity connected to Mr Al Rajhi and his family, and which had been the subject of investigations by the US authorities.
“Mr Saleh was a former director and treasurer of the Bahamas branch of Al Taqwa Bank, and president of the Piedmont Trading Corporation, which was part of the SAAR network,” the US Senate report noted of the lawsuit claims.
“The US Treasury Department has stated: ‘The Al Taqwa group has long acted as financial advisers to al Qai’da, with offices in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and the Caribbean.
“Regarding Akida Bank, the lawsuit complaint alleged that Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi was ‘on the board of directors of Akida Bank in the Bahamas’ and that ‘Akida Bank was run by Youssef Nada, a noted terrorist financier’.”
Comments
JohnBrown 11 years, 9 months ago
So what? What are these dirty secret order people doing right under our noses at this very moment in time to destroy us? This should be our main concern. If the truth be told George Bush was an al Qui'da operative bound by Saudi money and was the first president to welcome and allow Bin Laden to reside in the U.S. Why? Because He was a foolish man that destroyed ten companies by being an extremely poor leader/business manager, but because of his connectedness to the Scottish arm of that secret order and his ability to be discrete and lie convincingly to the American people, along with his father's pull, he was awarded president of the United States and was able to settle much of his bad debts with American blood, sweat, and tears, while being paid off by controlling Saudi Arabian cohorts. Was it not he that ordered that Bin Laden be given free access to travel outside the US unrestrained immediately after the 911 incident. Is this the propaganda campaign before the US actually kills Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi as they supposedly did to Bin Laden?
Now, I don't have any respect for the Muslins or Christians when it comes to justice and fair play in dealing, they are all holier that now crooks, who interpret reality in accordance with personal greed and their quest for power - some with money and other without, but all working for the same masters, the illuminate. Was George Bush and his henchmen not in church every Sunday making deals and acting like the biggest fake Christian ever? There is more to this story than meets the eye. There is no more and never was no cold war between Russia and the West, however there is a financial and security struggle going on because even though America has the power to destroy the world a hundred times, they have almost lost their bargaining power to China in terms of US economic decline and indebtedness through out standing loans from China, as opposed to China's economic might and growing military capacity - not to mention Americas indebtedness to the Saudi government, too. ...Stay tuned.
JohnBrown 11 years, 9 months ago
So what? What are these dirty secret order people doing right under our noses at this very moment in time to destroy us? This should be our main concern. If the truth be told George Bush was an al Qui'da operative bound by Saudi money and was the first president to welcome and allow Bin Laden to reside in the U.S. Why? Because He was a foolish man that destroyed ten companies by being an extremely poor leader/business manager, and because of his connectedness to the Scottish arm of that secret order and his ability to be discrete and lie convincingly to the American people, along with his father's pull, he was awarded president of the United States and was able to settle much of his bad debts with American blood, sweat, and tears, while being paid off by controlling Saudi Arabian cohorts. Was it not he that ordered that Bin Laden be given free access to travel outside the US unrestrained immediately after the 911 incident. Is this the propaganda campaign before the US actually kills Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi as they supposedly did to Bin Laden?
Now, I don't have any respect for the Muslins or Christians when it comes to justice and fair play in dealing, they are all holier than now crooks, who interpret reality in accordance with personal greed and their quest for power - some with money and other without, but all working for the same masters, the illuminate. Was George Bush and his henchmen not in church every Sunday making deals and acting like the biggest fake Christian ever? There is more to this story than meets the eye. There is no more and never was no cold war between Russia and the West, however there is a financial and security struggle going on because even though America has the power to destroy the world a hundred times, they have almost lost their voice and bargaining power to China in terms of US economic decline and indebtedness through outstanding loans from China, as opposed to China's economic might and growing military capacity - not to mention Americas indebtedness to the Saudi government, too. ...Stay tuned.
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