|
Malaysia Suspects Bin Laden Money in Local Banks
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (IslamOnline) - A Malaysian newspaper on Tuesday said that Osama Bin Laden, the number one U.S. suspect in its chase against terrorists, might have an accomplice in Malaysia holding an account on behalf of the Saudi millionaire.
The Utusan Malaysia, a Malay daily newspaper, being used by the Malaysian government to campaign against religious extremism in Malaysia, reproduced statements by Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadhl, a former bin Laden operative.
Malaysia is currently in the limelight after an FBI statement said a suspected hijacker of one of the airplanes that crashed into the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, was videotaped in Kuala Lumpur.
The FBI, as reported by CNN, indicated that they had video footage of the suspect discussing with another suspect the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.
Al-Fadhl said Osama is hiding a large share of his estimated $300 million in funds in several banks around the world. He, however, said he did not remember the name of the bank in Malaysia.
He added that he could not know the name of the person holding the account on behalf of bin Laden or his organization, Al Qaeda. Jamal is a former bin Laden strongman, sources said.
"I don't know the name of the bank, but I believe he owns the account in Malaysia," al-Fadhl said on February 6th this year during his assessment in a New York courtroom.
He was a witness against the four individuals convicted of bombing the U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998. Bin Laden also denied any involvement in those attacks as well as a stronger note denying involvement in the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon.
However, the United States is determined to hunt down the U.S.'s public enemy number one, a man who has previously declared war against the U.S. for its presence on Saudi Arabian soil.
Al-Fadhl also said the fugitive millionaire, who is now entrenched in the former fortresses of the
mujahidin [fighter] movement in the rocky mountains of Afghanistan beyond the Khyber Pass, had accounts in Hong Kong, the UAE, Sudan and Britain.
He added that the money was being used to wage war against the U.S. and accused bin Laden of terrorist activities. He added that the group spent more than $1.5 million to acquire uranium in 1993.
Most of al-Fadhl's accusations remain unchecked and are considered unfounded, said a source in February this year.
The source also said those close to bin Laden believe U.S. authorities might have paid the former operative to make those accusations, something which the U.S. has of yet not denied.
The Malaysian government is growing extremely frustrated over the continued linking of the suspected WTC and Pentagon terrorists to other organizations allegedly operating in the country.
Malaysia raised the specter of its own problems when it arrested several bandits who failed to rob a bank, who were members of the opposition Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), the Keadilaan Nasional Parti (NJP) and several members of a shadowy group, the Malaysian Mujahidin Movement (KMM).
Malaysia has placed its army on full alert to intercept any cases of a backlash that might occur if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan, or any other Muslim nation the U.S. government deems "terrorist".
At the height of the Anwar Ibrahim crisis in 1998, the U.S. threatened actions against Malaysia, which it suspected of receiving financing from the al-Qaeda group.
The Saudi-based bin Laden group had invested in a prawn production facility, and may also have interests in the construction industry in Malaysia.
|
