U.S. and Saudi authorities have taken joint action against a group that financed terrorist activities, the U.S. Treasury said in a press release today in a move that a Treasury official said “reflects the strength of U.S. and Saudi cooperation on countering the financing of terrorism.”
The U.S. Treasury and Saudi Arabia took steps to “disrupt the financing and operations of Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust (Al-Furqan)” which is a Peshawar, Pakistan-based offshoot of two other groups that support terrorism, the Department said. Al-Furqan emerged from the Afghan Support Committee (ASC) and Revival of Islamic Heritage Society branches in Pakistan and Afghanistan (RIHS-Pakistan).
The U.S. Treasury Department and Saudi Authorities take steps to stop terror financing.
“We are committed to exposing terrorist financiers, especially those who masquerade as charities,” said Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
According to the U.S Treasury Department:
“Al-Furqan is a charitable organization that is a major conduit of financial and material support for terrorist groups and their activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in some cases under the guise of humanitarian work. As of November 2013, Al-Furqan was providing funding for the U.S. designated terrorist training center Ganj Madrassa, which was controlled by al-Qaida facilitator Shaykh Aminullah. Al-Furqan was used to manage financial transactions between individuals in the Gulf and Pakistan in support of the Afghan insurgent movement led by Shaykh Aminullah. Afghan insurgent money managers gained access to funds through Al-Furqan with a special note written by Shaykh Aminullah.
“As of mid-2014, Al-Furqan’s management provided tens of thousands of U.S. dollars to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba leadership. Some of this money was obtained as a result of Al-Furqan’s revenue streams from individuals in the Gulf. As of November 2013, Al-Furqan’s management was affiliated with an Afghan insurgent organization that coordinated militant activities with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Al-Furqan as of November 2013 has provided aid shipments for unspecified projects in Kashmir, which were delivered under the protection of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. As of January 2011, Al-Furqan financed two Pakistan-based madrassa directors who fought for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, sent madrasa students to fight for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in Afghanistan, and used Al-Furqan’s funding to stage cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. As of August 2014, Al-Furqan was used to transfer funding on behalf of al-Qaida from sources in the Gulf.”
