♻RetweetN. Va. Terror Probe Details
By: Charles Johnson • Oct 17, 2003 at 10:33 pm PDT
Court records recently unsealed allege that a secretive group of Muslim charities and businesses in Northern Virginia funneled millions of dollars to foreign terrorists—and the network was set up with donations from a wealthy (unnamed) Saudi family: Terror Probe Points to Va. Muslims. (Hat tip: Steven Zak.)
An affidavit from Homeland Security agent David Kane said that the Safa Group, also known as the SAAR network, in Herndon had sent more than $26 million in untraceable money overseas and that leaders of the organization “have committed and conspired to … provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.”
The probe of the Herndon groups is the largest federal investigation of terrorism financing in the world, authorities have said. And the unsealing of Kane’s report marks the first time the government has alleged the main purpose of the Virginia organizations, set up primarily with donations from a wealthy Saudi family, was to fund terrorism and hide millions of dollars.
Kane said the convoluted nature of the myriad financial transactions and the fact that much of the money was sent to tax havens with bank secrecy laws make it impossible to trace the final destination of much of the money. But he said the pattern of the money’s movement, coupled with the association of leaders of the Safa Group with suspected terrorists, were strong indicators the group was financing terrorism.
“There appears to be no innocent explanation for the use of layers and layers of transactions between Safa Group companies and charities other than to throw law enforcement authorities off the trail,” Kane wrote.
In March 2002 federal agents raided the organization’s offices on Grove Street in Herndon as well as the homes of eight of the leaders of the group. The raids prompted widespread protest among the Muslim community. Muslim leaders accused law enforcement officials of carrying out a witch hunt and said the raids, in which computers and other office equipment was seized, was hurting legitimate businesses.
Frank says: