FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

June 2, 2004
JS-1705

Remarks of Treasury DAS Juan Zarate on Joint
U.S. and Saudi Action in the Financial War on Terror

Thank you very much, Adel, for inviting us here today to make this important announcement.

I am pleased to announce that, once again, the United States and Saudi Arabia have joined forces to identify and choke off additional channels of terrorist financing.

Today, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are designating five additional branches of the Saudi-based charity, Al-Haramain, located in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Netherlands. We will jointly be submitting these names to the United Nations 1267 Committee for listing by the United Nations. In doing so, we are calling on the U.N. to designate these groups as well, which will bring to bear the full weight of the international community and require the freezing of any accounts or transactions now or in the future. This is another important joint step with the Saudi government – steps that began in March 2002 – to designate known supporters of terrorism.

The United States is also announcing today the designation of Al Haramain’s former leader, Aqeel Abdulaziz Al-Aqil, and will be submitting his name to the United Nations for designation as well.

These entities and this individual have provided financial, material and logistical support to the al-Qaida network, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban, fueling and facilitating their efforts to carry out vile acts against innocent individuals and the civilized world.

The terrorist attacks this past weekend in the Kingdom demonstrate again that we are engaged in a global battle against terrorism – a battle that affects Saudi Arabia directly on a daily basis. As we have seen over the course of Al Qaida’s history, it terrorizes and kills victims around the world of every race, creed and color.

These terrorists and their sympathizers have abused charities not only as a means of raising funds but also to provide logistical support and cover for terrorist operations. That is the case with the branches and activities of Al Haramain we have designated. It was under the cloak of charity that Aqeel al Aqil used the al Haramain organization to benefit himself and al Qaida – to support al Qaida-related groups like Al Ittihad Al Islamiya and al Qaida trained fighters. Mr. Aqil has attempted to evade Saudi controls on his finances, and we have worked with the Saudi government to ensure that he can no longer wield control over Al Haramain and its resources.

The use of charities for terrorist financing is not a new phenomenon, nor do we think it will stop with these actions. That is why we are pleased that the Saudi government has taken even more aggressive structural and regulatory steps to deal with the abuse of charities within the Kingdom. With the announcement of the Saudi National Commission for Relief and Charity Work, the Saudi government is signaling again its long-term commitment to reform in this sector.

We will continue to work with our international partners and the charitable community to protect the sector from terrorists, who mock the very notion of charity and use it to fuel their hate-filled agendas.

The Bush Administration is committed to rooting out terrorism – root and branch – through all possible means. Our worldwide effort to attack the financial infrastructure of terror has made it more difficult for al Qaida and other terrorist groups to underwrite terror and has forced them to resort to less secure methods to move dollars.

With today’s action, 374 individuals and entities have been designated under President Bush’s Executive Order aimed at freezing the assets of terrorists and their supporters. Nearly $140 million in terrorist-related assets has been frozen as a result of efforts by the United States and its allies.

Though our struggle against terrorism is not over, actions like today’s can foil the short-term goals of terrorists while thwarting their long-term ambitions – leading to the ultimate dismantling of terrorist networks.

Continued collective efforts by Saudi Arabia and our international allies, like today’s, will lead to further successes in the financial war on terror. We will not tire in these efforts – we will continue to cut off channels of financing, we will ostracize those who supporter or facilitate terrorism, we will continue to capture or kill operatives and facilitators and we will bring to justice those who seek to do us harm. The civilized world has rallied against terrorism, and we remain resolute in our efforts.

Thank you very much.