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| Arabia |
| Saudis to Tighten Control Over Charities |
| 2004-06-02 |
| The Saudi government, in an effort to prevent charitable donations from bankrolling terrorism, is creating a commission to filter contributions raised inside the kingdom to support causes abroad. As part of the plan, announced Wednesday at the Saudi Embassy, the government is dissolving a large Riyadh-based Muslim charity, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, along with other Saudi charities and is folding their financial assets into the new Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad, officials said. Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, estimated that about $100 million a year might flow through the commission. The action, which comes in the aftermath of terror attacks in the kingdom over the weekend that left 22 dead, was welcomed by the Bush administration. Attorney General John Ashcroft called the Saudi plan "a positive step in the global effort to stem the flow of monies that finance terrorist organizations." He said in a written statement that U.S. investigators and prosecutors "continue to scrutinize records obtained from a recent search warrant executed on the Al-Haramain offices in Medford, Oregon." "I think it is an important step," said Fran Townsend, the White House's homeland security adviser. "I think what we've got to do is work with the Saudi government and see how they implement this announcement today," she added. "I think that's where the real test is _ in the implementation of the announcement." The U.S. government, as part of its anti-terrorism strategy after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has sought to cut off the sources of financing for terrorist organizations. The commission "will take over all aspects of private overseas aid operations and assume responsibility for the distribution of private charitable donations from Saudi Arabia," the Saudi Embassy said in a statement. |
| Posted by:Fred |