Author: Sarfaraz Ahmed and Maqbool Ahmed
Publication: Daily Times
Date: August 12, 2006
URL: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\08\12\story_12-8-2006_pg1_1
* Funds given to two British citizens of Kashmiri
origin and an Islamabad-based Kashmiri builder
* 'Earthquake relief' money remitted to individuals alarmed British agencies
A UK-based Islamic charity organisation remitted
a huge amount of money to three individuals in three different bank accounts
in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, in December last year with the sole purpose of helping
its recipients and their organisations carry out the aircraft bombing plan
in the UK, insider sources told Daily Times yesterday.
An investigation carried out by Daily Times
showed that Muslim Charity of UK remitted not so long ago a huge amount of
money under the head of "earthquake relief" to the accounts of three
individuals in three different banks - Saudi Pak Bank, Standard Chartered
and Habib Bank Ltd. One of these banks is UK based and has its presence in
Azad Kashmir because of a huge number of British citizens of Kashmir origin
in UK. The money was transferred from UK to banks in Azad Kashmir through
Barclays Plc..
Two of the recipients of the transaction are
British citizens of Kashmir origin while the third is an Islamabad-based builder,
also of Kashmir origin. They were arrested in the last two weeks at three
different places in the country. One of them was arrested in Karachi, the
"builder" was arrested in Islamabad while the place of the arrest
of the third suspect is still not known. There are no available details about
these three suspects with regard to their links with organisations such as
Al Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Taiba or both.
Pakistani FIA investigators were apparently
tipped off by the British authorities about the fund transfers and asked to
investigate. Following their arrests the three suspects revealed some key
elements of the aircraft bombing plan during interrogations by various agency
personnel, who were also aided by at least one expert specialising in money
laundering. The Pakistani and British investigators were able to discover
how operatives at both ends had raised and moved their funds around. These
investigations also established that it was due to the prompt and successful
operation of Pakistan's intelligence agencies, particularly the FIA, that
the world was saved from a fate worse than 9/11.
"Had we been even slightly complacent,
the perpetrators of this plot might have been able to carry out their operations
without little or no problem in the UK because of two broad reasons,"
said a senior government official, who was privy to the inquiry carried out
by Pakistani agencies following the receipt of a tip from UK's National Terrorist
Financial Investigation Unit in June this year.
First, he said, "Pakistani anti-terrorism
agency counterparts abroad have been showing a lot of trust in our skills
and abilities and none of our reports has so far been challenged by them."
Second, he added, any delay on the part of the Pakistan agencies in acquiring
and relaying this information would have cost the NTFIU dearly for it was
desperate to know the outcome of Pakistan's inquiry report in order to determine
whether or not to ask the UK authorities to declare a "red alert"
in the country. Giving details, the official said the NTFIU, which reportedly
plays a central role in informing and implementing British government policy
on terrorist finance and is an integral part of the UK's intelligence structure
targeting terrorist finance, had asked Pakistani authorities to carry out
a "highly discreet" inquiry on some money transfers.
According to the NTFIU, a huge amount of money
had been transferred from Britain to Azad Kashmir for quake relief efforts
two months after the quake caused devastation. "Neither the amount nor
the purpose for which money was sent caused any concern in the British investigation
unit," said the senior official. "What raised alarm among British
sleuths specialising in finances was the fact that the entire money was remitted
to three individuals, not to any organisation or organisations involved in
the relief work."
The official, who refused to disclose the
amount, however said that the entire transaction was in pound sterling. "It
is up to you to deduce. What I can say is that it was a huge amount. Had it
not been gone into the accounts of individual, nobody would have been bothered,"
he said.
A senior Pakistani banker who has successfully
dealt with a number of money laundering cases told Daily Times on condition
of anonymity that the UK has had extensive experience of tracking, disrupting
and undermining the finances of terrorist networks and continues to develop
new ways in which such targeting and disruption can be effectively achieved.
In this case too, the UK Unit's expertise provided immense guidance to Pakistani
sleuths to uncover the plot, he added. Another senior official told Daily
Times that the Pakistani agencies have in recent months been able to effect
significant seizures of terrorist cash and identify and disrupt terrorist
fundraising activity.
According to him, all banks, including multinationals,
and financial institutions have been cooperating fully in seeking out sources
of terrorist funding since 9/11. "This was mainly due to the cooperation
of the three banks through which money was transferred to these suspects,"
the official said, and added that one of the most significant features contributing
to the success of this case was increased integration between key bodies involved,
ranging from government, law enforcement and regulatory bodies at home and
abroad.
