Author:
Publication: The Financial Times
Date: August 29, 2002
Efforts to stem funding to the al-Qaeda
terrorist network have stalled according to a United Nations draft report
seen by the Washington Post newspaper.
The report, written by a UN panel
responsible for monitoring the enforcement of an arms, travel and financial
embargo against al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups, alleges that some
$10m has been blocked to the group in the past eight months and that $112m
in assets belonging to the network and its associates have been frozen.
Al-Qaeda continues to draw on personal
inheritance money belonging to Osama bin Laden, the group's leader, and
is thought to have access to bank accounts in Dubai, Hong Kong, London,
Malaysia and Vienna, according to details in the report.
Post-September efforts to hinder
al-Qaeda's flow of money have been frustrated through a 'hawala' money
network. Such a network funnels money through an ancient and informal system
that makes transactions hard to trace.
The report concludes that "despite
initial successes in locating and freezing" al-Qaeda assets, the network
"continues to have access to considerable financial and other economic
resources," and that the funds have proven to be "exceedingly difficult"
to trace.
Efforts to freeze the terrorists
money supply have been at the forefront of the fight against terror following
the attacks on New York and Washington.
The UN is expected to release the
report next week.
