Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Albania freezes assets of fugitive Saudi businessman on U.S. terror list

TIRANA, Albania (AP) - The Albanian government said Wednesday it has frozen the assets of a Saudi citizen who is under investigation for alleged money laundering to terror networks.

Authorities have seized 22 apartment units owned by Yasin Al-Qadi, a fugitive Saudi businessman suspected of laundering money for Osama bin Laden's terror network through extensive business dealings in Albania, said Alban Beqa, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance.

Al-Qadi, 47, has been under investigation since January 2002 for money laundering. He had already left the country by that time.

Al-Qadi headed the Saudi-based Muwafaq Foundation, which U.S. investigators suspect took in millions from wealthy Saudis and funneled it to bin Laden. He was among 39 individuals and organizations designated in 2001 by the Bush administration to have their assets frozen.

Al-Qadi had set up eight different companies in Albania since 1992, and was known with five different names. He was one of the main partners in the Twin Towers, a pair of buildings under construction in front of the government's main offices.

Albania approved a U.N. list of terrorist groups in October. The United Nations require all countries to freeze assets and impose arms and travel bans on those on the list, which contains individuals and groups associated with terrorist activities.

In July, the government passed a law which allowed it to seize assets and block funding and obliged people to tell authorities about suspected terrorist financing.

"The government ... is committed in attacking these criminal activities linked with terrorism,'' Finance Minister Arben Malaj said to Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper.

Albania, a small, predominantly Muslim country has been a vocal backer of the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq, where it deployed a small unit of 71 non-combat troops to help with postwar peacekeeping.-AP

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