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Head of U.S. Islamic Charity Accused of Aiding bin Laden
Wednesday, October 9, 2002
By Diego Ibarguen
Knight Ridder

Ashcroft described an "archive of incriminating documents" recovered from the foundation's Bosnia offices that directly link bin Laden and Arnaout, dating to the mid- to late 1980s.

WASHINGTON -- KR
The leader of an Islamic charity has been indicted in Chicago on charges that he operated a front that funneled money to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network and others, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Wednesday.

Enaam M. Arnaout, 40, of Justice, Ill., faces racketeering and other charges for allegedly soliciting and obtaining money from innocent donors for his Benevolence International Foundation, then using the funds to finance terrorist activity and violence in Afghanistan, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"In fact, funds were being used to support al Qaida and other groups," including Hezb e Islami, a militant group run by an Afghan warlord that helped some al-Qaida members escape from Afghanistan, Ashcroft said at a Chicago news conference, where he announced the indictment. He and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald did not estimate how much money the foundation might have provided.

Ashcroft said documents recovered in March from the group's Bosnia offices provided "for the first time documentary proof of the founding of al Qaida and the oaths sworn by al-Qaida members."
(More: The Macon Telegraph News Source)
2002 © Knight Ridder Newspapers.

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