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| Al-Qaida operative invested in Chicago brokerage house in 2005 |
| 2011-06-22 |
| A key al-Qaida member who had access to Osama bin Laden and allegedly financed terrorism invested millions of dollars with a Chicago futures brokerage firm — and now the U.S. government wants to take control of the remaining cash. Abu al Tayyeb, who had allegedly considered a biological attack and other terror plots against U.S. citizens, wired $35 million to an associate, of which $26.7 million was deposited into an account in 2005, according to the federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department. In less than a year, the account plummeted to less than $7 million because of poor trading decisions by the associate, according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago over the weekend. The U.S. government froze the accounts in 2007 and is moving to collect the money under federal laws that allow seizure of assets connected to terrorism. While the civil lawsuit does not link al Tayyeb's money to any terror activity, it portrays him as an al-Qaida operative who raised money for the terror group and plotted attacks on U.S. citizens and allies. "Al Tayyeb began raising significant amounts of money through … a Saudi Arabian-based investment scheme," the lawsuit alleged. "Al Tayyeb then used the funds raised, in part, to finance jihadist-related activities." Al Tayyeb's money was deposited in an account at Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates, which has not been accused of any wrongdoing. "RJO is in no way targeted in this matter, and we have complied with all related laws, rules and regulations," the company said in a statement. The account was set up in 2003 by someone identified only as "Individual A" as a commodities futures trading account, the government said. Two years later, "Individual A" transferred the account to Mohammad Qasim al Ghamdi, who was identified as a general manager for the account, according to the lawsuit. Al Tayyeb — also identified by authorities as Muhammad Abdallah Abdan Al Ghamdi — was well-connected to al-Qaida by then, having met with bin Laden in 2000 or 2001 in advance of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Al Tayyeb allegedly gave Qasim al Ghamdi the equivalent of $35 million in Saudi riyals in 2005, but $26.7 million was invested with R.J. O'Brien, according to the lawsuit. The two were identified by the Justice Department as associates. Both were arrested in 2006 by Saudi Arabian authorities. In just eight months, the account was drained to $6.6 million, according to the government. "Due to poor trading position adopted by Al Ghamdi, the … trading account decreased in value," the lawsuit said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 A good point, lotp. I'd never make it as a criminal, I fear. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-06-22 21:44 |
| #4 There's a slight possibility that the counterparties to his trades were working with him ... an indirect way to pass money. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-06-22 21:40 |
| #3 In less than a year, the account plummeted to less than $7 million because of poor trading decisions *snicker* Country boy comes to the big city, gets to keep his shirt but not much else. Seriously, was the fund Sharia compliant? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-06-22 21:37 |
| #2 Well it's good to know they're integrating into the international finance system. Sigh. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-06-22 21:36 |
| #1 "FORT APACHE"'S HENRY FONDA, + FUTURE PRE-OWG PAULA "DELILAH/BATHSHEBA" ABDUL + HER HOWLING COMMANDOS remembers Kay-y-y-det Tayyeb. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-22 18:31 |