Whilst the name of the terrorist organisation was not revealed by Saudi authorities, it is claimed that the terrorist suspects have links to Al-Qaeda. Just how these individuals came into the possession of such a large amount of cash, and the role that banks, Hawala, money service businesses, and other non-bank financial institutions played should be a priority with Saudi financial crime investigators, who are certainly deeply probing these questions , albeit without publicity.

Were the funds channeled into the country through traditional Al-Qaeda pipelines, or was the terrorist financing a strictly domestic affair? If funding was external, coming in through other Middle Eastern sources, the tactics employed will be important intelligence, as the disclosure of the evolving methods of terrorist financing are critical to real-time interdiction of these funds. We hope Saudi authorities choose to make the results of their investigation public, as current Al-Qaeda funding trade craft is urgently needed by the global banking community.