US to charge USS Cole bombing suspect

This month US authorities have announced their intention to charge Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (UID 8646) with "organising and directing" the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Reportedly al-Nashiri who is also known as Bilal bin Marwan was the al-Qaida operations chief situated in the Arabian Peninsula. He is also suspected of involvement in the 2002 suicide bombing attack on the French oil tanker the Limburg. In 2002 al-Nashiri was arrested in the UAE and was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2006.

Authorities detain AQIM financiers

Earlier this month Spanish authorities arrested four suspected terrorist financiers. Three were detained in Northern Spain with a fourth being held in the southwest. The Government states that they are suspected of belonging to an Algerian terrorist organisation Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (UID 39178) which was previously known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC). The four are accused of transferring money in small amounts through bank accounts in various countries, purportedly to avoid raising suspicions and also to make the funding trail difficult to follow. The four detained men reportedly have links to convicted terrorists in the United Kingdom.

Morocco arrests disrupts al-Qaida recruitment network

Moroccan authorities claim to have dismantled an al-Qaida recruitment network operating within the country. Allegedly this network recruited individuals to fight in Iraq and Algeria. In February authorities broke up a similar network of some 36 individuals. The network was purportedly run by Belgian citizen Abdelkader Belliraj (UID 806627). Check out his profile to see his terror organisation links.

Italy detains LTTE suspects

Italian authorities have arrested eight individuals in Palermo, Sicily. The individuals are accused of belonging to the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) (UID 3219). According to reports the local Tamil community has laid complaints of extortion, intimidation and harassment against the suspects.

Australian aid organisation admits to using charity with Hamas links

Muslim Aid Australia (UID 580103) reportedly admitted to using a British registered charity, banned by Australia and the USA for its alleged links to terrorism, to channel aid to the Palestinian territories. According to reports Muslim Aid Australia used British charity Interpal (UID 181012) which is on both the US and the Australian watch lists. Interpal has been cleared by the British charity commission of any involvement in terrorism but DFAT and the US have linked it to what the Australian authorities have called 'part of a web of charities raising funds and co-ordinating fundraisers on behalf of Hamas'.

Saudis clamp down on suspected terror financiers

Since the beginning of the year Saudi officials have been monitoring a number of individuals who they believe to be involved in planning attacks against Gulf oil installations. Authorities claim that they have more than 500 individuals in detention in connection to these investigations. Amongst them are believed to be those offering financial support to al-Qaida (UID 7246). The Saudi Interior Minister reportedly said ““We have found things … that can be used as evidence against al Qaida’s financial backers.” The official statement also referred to the way money was obtained stating that “they resorted to direct contacts with individuals to obtain money under the guise of charity work.”

Koreans capture drug ring suspects with links to Taliban

Police in Korea have broken up two separate drug rings with alleged links to the Taliban (UID 7257). One of the accused travelled on a counterfeit passport and an arrested Afghan national admitted that the chemicals found in the raid were to be shipped to Afghanistan for use in the processing of heroin. Another individual wanted in connection with similar activities, is to be deported from the UAE to face charges in Korea. A police statement suggested that the chemicals seized would have enabled heroin with an estimated value of more than US$8million to reach the streets. The area the chemicals were destined for in Afghanistan is notorious for its terrorist bombings and abductions.

"The air cargo system is vulnerable to security threats including plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft.”

Terrorist Financing: Risk of Prepaid Card Instruments
by Carole Margolis

External state support for terrorist and insurgent groups has become increasingly limited, causing these illicit actors to adopt a dizzying array of funding strategies. Among these, new payment systems including prepaid cards, mobile banking and e-currencies have emerged as a particularly worrisome domain that terrorists can exploit to fund their support infrastructures and organizations. This paper addresses the terrorist financing risks associated with prepaid cards.

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In June 2008 the UK HM Treasury Office made nine additions to its al-Qaida Taliban list on 2008-06-11 . It also amended one entry on 2008-06-24 and the following day amended or removed five additional names, see here for full details.

The European Union added nine names on the 2008-06-18 including the entity the Rajah Solaiman Movement.

The US Treasury OFAC had a busy month and issued five press releases during June. To access the full press releases and actions click on the relevant date. 2008-06-05 . 2008-06-13 .2008-06-16 .2008-06-18 .2008-06-19 .

The United Nations security council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee added eight individuals, all Philippines nationals, and one entity to their consolidated list on 2008-06-10 .

EVENTS:

29 & 30 July, 2008

22-26 September, 2008

WORLD-CHECK NEWS

World-Check recommends taking time to read "Singapore’s Zero-Tolerance Approach to Counter the Financing of Terrorism" by Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. This article can be reached by clicking here .