*EPF303 05/01/2002
Text: FBI Arrests Head of Chicago-Based Int'l Charity Organization
(Charges include perjury relating to alleged terrorist activity) (1890)

The head of an international charitable organization in the Chicago area has been arrested on charges of perjury "for allegedly lying in Federal Court documents about links to international terrorism," according to a statement from the office of the U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois April 30.

Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, Enaam M. Arnaout, the executive director of Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), an international charity organization based in Palos Hills, Ill., was arrested on April 30 in his home in south suburban Justice, said the statement.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald charged that Arnaout had ties with Usama Bin Laden, and BIF provided logistical support to al Qaeda, the statement said.

Fitzgerald added that people who contributed to BIF "were victims, not criminals. Today's charges seek to vindicate, not frustrate, the noble intentions of the vast majority of donors, mostly Muslim Americans, who thought they were giving help to needy causes," the statement said.

Following is text of the statement from United States Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois, April 30:

(begin text)

United States Attorney Northern District of Illinois Patrick J. Fitzgerald United States Attorney

APRIL 30, 2002

SUBURBAN CHICAGO-BASED INTERNATIONAL CHARITY AND ITS DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH PERJURY RELATING TO ALLEGED TERRORIST ACTIVITY

CHICAGO - The executive director of Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), a charitable organization based in Palos Hills, Ill., was arrested today by the FBI, and both he and the foundation itself were charged with perjury for allegedly lying in Federal Court documents about links to international terrorism. Enaam M. Arnaout, 39, executive director of BIF since at least September 1997 and a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested this morning at his home in south suburban Justice, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The charges allege that Arnaout and BIF made false statements under oath in documents filed over the last month in BIF's federal civil lawsuit pending in Chicago against various U.S. government officials. The allegedly false declarations include assertions about BIF's handling and use of donations and denials of providing aid and support to people or organizations known to be engaged in violence, terrorist activities, or military operations, when, in fact, BIF was "engaged in the support of various persons and groups involved in military and terrorist type activity."

Arnaout, also known as "Abu Mahmoud," and "Abdel Samia," was expected to have an initial court appearance at 2:00 p.m. today before Magistrate Judge Ian H. Levin in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by the FBI-led Joint Terrorist Task Force.

"The complaint alleges that the Benevolence International Foundation was supporting violence secretly," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "It is important that those who support terrorism covertly and those who obstruct court proceedings will be investigated and prosecuted. It is just as important to recognize that the persons who gave money to BIF were victims, not criminals. Today's charges seek to vindicate, not frustrate, the noble intentions of the vast majority of donors, mostly Muslim Americans, who thought they were giving help to needy causes."

Mr. Kneir said: "I would like to thank the agents and the attorneys involved in the investigation of this matter for their tireless efforts. As we have promised the public, we will be vigilant in our investigations of terrorism. When circumstances dictate, we will thoroughly investigate groups suspected of supporting terrorism, including those who collect funds for a legitimate purpose but then divert those funds."

A 35-page FBI affidavit supporting the charges sets forth evidence demonstrating that:

-- Arnaout has a relationship with Usama Bin Laden and many of his key associates dating back more than a decade, as evidenced by cooperating witnesses and seized documents;

-- BIF is an organization that al Qaeda has used for logistical support, including the movement of money to fund its operations, according to a cooperating witness familiar with al Qaeda;

-- various persons involved in terrorist activities - specifically including persons trying to obtain chemical and nuclear weapons on behalf of al Qaeda - have had contacts with BIF offices and personnel; and

-- BIF has had direct dealings with representatives of the Chechen mujahideen (guerillas) as well as Hezb e Islami, a military group operating at various times in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. BIF made efforts to provide the Chechen mujahideen with money, an X-ray machine, and anti-mine boots, among other things

The four-part affidavit describes the background of Arnaout and BIF; ties between certain terrorists and BIF and Arnaout; dealings between Arnaout, BIF and the Chechen mujahideen; and BIF's and Arnaout's efforts to frustrate international investigations and obstruct justice.

The complaint alleges that al Qaeda has an established practice of using charities for terrorist purposes and that Arnaout has ties to Bin Laden, including being trusted with the care of one of Bin Laden's wives in Pakistan in 1989. On March 19, 2002, law enforcement authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina searched eight locations affiliated with BIF, including BIF's offices in that country. Authorities recovered three firearms, a ski mask, numerous military manuals on topics including small arms and explosives, a fraudulent passport and BIF correspondence. Also recovered were classified documents belonging to multiple governments concerning Islamic extremism; photographs, including pictures (likely dating to the 1980s) of Bin Laden in Afghanistan, as well as Arnaout handling rifles, a shoulder-fired rocket and an anti-aircraft gun; and documents establishing direct communication between Arnaout and Bin Laden and others in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The affidavit also describes various persons involved in terrorist activity, particularly with the al Qaeda network, who were in contact with Anaout and the BIF office in Palos Hills. These individuals include:

-- Mamdouh Salim, a key Bin Laden associate who authored fatwahs, or Islamic legal rulings, justifying attacks by al Qaeda against civilians and participated in efforts to obtain nuclear and chemical weapons for al Qaeda and who attempted to murder a corrections officer in the federal jail in New York while awaiting trial for his participation in a conspiracy to kill American nationals. Several months prior to his arrest in Germany, Salim traveled to Bosnia in 1998 where his visa and housing was sponsored by BIF and where a statement was signed on behalf of BIF and Arnaout attesting that Salim was a "director" of BIF;

-- Mohamed Bayazid, who made efforts to get uranium for al Qaeda to develop a nuclear weapon. Bayazid obtained an Illinois driver's license reflecting his residence as the address of BIF's Illinois office;

-- Mohamad Jamal Khalifa, Bin Laden's brother-in-law who has been closely linked to terrorist operatives who carried out the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and sought in the Philippines to bomb 12 airliners over American cities in 1994 as well as to assassinate the Pope. Khalifa was traveling with Bayazid at that time and a telephone number associated with Khalifa was contacted by the BIF Illinois office as recently as November 1998; and

-- Wali Khan Amin Shah, key participant in the plot in the Philippines to bomb 12 airliners over American cities in 1994 as well as to assassinate the Pope. Khan wrote a request to Arnaout to provide money to an Afghan field commander for weapons in the late 1980s.

Regarding BIF dealings in Chechnya, the affidavit alleges that BIF sent 19 wire transfers totaling $685,560 between January and April 2000 to bank accounts of the Georgian Relief Association, also known as MADLEE, in Tbilisi, Georgia, and BIF accounts in Azerbaijan, Russia and Latvia. A senior law enforcement official in Georgia responsible for counterterrorism told the FBI last month that their investigation has revealed an al Qaeda training camp, located in the Pankisi Gorge, northwest of Tblisi, where Chechnyan rebels and others are trained. The affidavit also describes trash recovered by the FBI from BIF in Palos Hills concerning Chechnya and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2000 and 2001, and other trash recovered in April 1999 concerning small pox as a biological terrorism weapon.

On Dec. 14, 2001, searches pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act were conducted of BIF offices in Palos Hills, and Newark, N.J., as well as at Arnaout's home. Also that day, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and an Executive Order, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control issued an order blocking BIF's assets and records pending further investigation into BIF's ties to terrorists. On Jan. 30, 2002, BIF filed a lawsuit, Benevolence International Foundation, Inc. v. Ashcroft, et al., 02 C 763 (N.D. Il.), and in March BIF requested a preliminary injunction seeking the return of its seized or blocked property and to void the OFAC blocking order. Attached to BIF's pleadings was a Declaration of Enaam Arnaout, dated March 22, 2002, which was followed a short time later by a "Corrected Declaration of Enaam Arnaout," dated April 1, 2002.

The complaint alleges that Arnaout and BIF (acting through Arnaout), falsely stated under oath that:

"BIF is required to maintain the donations of zakat in a non-interest bearing account and to use those funds only to assist the poor and needy. BIF abides strictly by those requirements. . . . BIF has never provided aid or support to people or organizations known to be engaged in violence, terrorist activities, or military operations of any nature. BIF abhors terrorism and all forms of violence against human beings.

...............

I have no idea or understanding as to why the government has taken these actions [blocking of assets] against BIF.

(Emphasis added)

The affidavit alleges that BIF tried to frustrate international investigations during a telephone call placed on March 21, 2002, two days after the law enforcement searches in Bosnia, to Munib Zaharigac, who was serving as director of BIF in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and was in jail at the time of the conversation. Also in March, Arnaout allegedly discussed with a cooperating witness Arnaout's plans to leave the United States for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On April 2, 2002, Arnaout was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury and the FBI placed him under continuous surveillance, which he has detected.

Meanwhile, Arnaout's amended declaration, dated April 1, once again stated that BIF was not involved in providing support to any entities involved in military activity. On April 15, Arnaout received a telephone call from Haroun Abed, BIF's representative in Islamabad, Pakistan, and he told Haroun to relocate to Kabul, Afghanistan, without his family and with all the money.

The government is being represented in this continuing investigation by United States Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kocoras and Daniel Gillogly.

If convicted, perjury carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for an individual, and five years probation and a $500,000 fine for an organization. Note, however, that the Court, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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