When the story of the arrest of American Muslim Council leader Abdurahman Alamoudi (aka Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi) broke yesterday, I had a question: since travel to Libya is banned by the US, how did he get there without being noticed?

The answer, according to Stewart Bell in the National Post: he was helped by the Libyan embassy in Ottawa, as part of a plot to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to US Islamic groups from the Libyan Islamic Call Society’s “Jihad Fund:” Libyan embassy accused in money plot. (Hat tip: rizzo.) Interesting that AP and Reuters wire stories make no mention of the Ottawa embassy connection or of a “Jihad Fund,” even though they do name the Libyan Islamic Call Society—so they must have been aware of it.

A criminal complaint unsealed yesterday claims the Ottawa embassy issued visas to Abdurahman Alamoudi, an Ethiopian-born American affiliated with several Muslim organizations being investigated for terror financing.

The visas allowed Mr. Alamoudi to travel to Libya without obtaining the necessary approval from the U.S. government. During the trips, he allegedly secured large donations from Libya’s “Jihad Fund.”

Mr. Alamoudi was caught in London last month trying to board a plane to Damascus carrying US$340,000 in cash, which he obtained from the Libyans in a clandestine drop, U.S. authorities allege.

Canada established full diplomatic ties with Libya in 2001, despite continuing concerns about Tripoli’s sponsorship of terrorism. Canada now operates an embassy in Tripoli and Libya has a mission in Ottawa.

UPDATE: Since the media is totally falling down on the job (or crippled by political correctness) reporting this story, here’s the actual 29-page affidavit concerning the charges against Alamoudi. (PDF format.)