DEA NEWS: FEDS ANNOUNCE SEIZURE OF $150 MILLION IN CONNECTION WITH HIZBALLAH-RELATED MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME

DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara today announced the seizure of $150 million in connection with a civil money laundering and forfeiture complaint filed in December 2011 alleging a massive, international scheme in which entities linked to Hizballah, including the now defunct Lebanese Canadian Bank (“LCB”), used the U.S. financial system to launder narcotics trafficking and other criminal proceeds through West Africa and back into Lebanon.

In September 2011, Société Générale de Banque au Liban (“SGBL”) agreed to purchase most of the assets of LCB, and at least $150 million in purchase price funds related to that sale are being held in escrow in Lebanon at the Banque Libano Française SAL (“BLF”). The seized funds are substitutes for the money in the LCB escrow account at BLF, and came from an account at a U.S. bank that is used by BLF to conduct U.S. currency transactions (the “correspondent account”). The funds were seized pursuant to seizure warrants issued on August 15, 2012. There are no allegations of wrongdoing against BLF, SGBL, or the U.S. bank that maintains the correspondent account for BLF in the U.S.

“As we alleged last year, the Lebanese Canadian Bank played a key role in facilitating money laundering for Hizballah controlled organizations across the globe,” Administrator Leonhart said. “Our relentless pursuit of global criminal networks showed that the U.S. banking system was exploited to launder drug trafficking funds through West Africa and into Lebanon. DEA and our partners are attacking these groups and their financial infrastructure, while establishing clear links between drug trafficking proceeds and terrorist funding.”

“Money is the lifeblood of terrorist and narcotics organizations, and while banks which launder money for terrorists and narco-traffickers may be located abroad, today’s announcement demonstrates that those banks and their assets are not beyond our reach,” U.S. Attorney Bharara said. “We will use every resource at our disposal to separate terrorists and narco-traffickers, and the banks that work with them, from their illicit funds, even those hidden in foreign accounts.”

According to the Complaint, the affidavit in support of the seizure warrants and other documents filed in the case:

From approximately January 2007 to early 2011, at least $329 million was transferred by wire from LCB and other financial institutions to the U.S for the purchase of used cars that were then shipped to West Africa. Cash from the sale of the cars, along with the proceeds of narcotics trafficking, were funneled to Lebanon through Hizballah-controlled money laundering channels. LCB played a key role in these money laundering channels and conducted business with a number of Hizballah-related entities. Hizballah is a U.S. Department of State designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, a Specially Designated Terrorist and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

On February 10, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a finding and proposed rule, pursuant to the USA Patriot Act, that LCB is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern, based on, among other things, FinCEN’s determination that there was reason to believe that LCB had been routinely used by drug traffickers and money launderers operating in various countries in Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. FinCEN also determined that there was reason to believe that LCB managers were complicit in the network’s money laundering activities.

After the FinCEN action, another Lebanese financial institution, SGBL acquired the assets and liabilities of LCB for $580 million, $150 million of which is being held in an escrow account at BLF (the “LCB Escrow Funds”). Because the LCB Escrow Funds are traceable to the assets of LCB, they are also subject to forfeiture, but since they are in an account in Lebanon, the U.S. is unable to seize the LCB Escrow Funds directly. However, pursuant to U.S. law, the U.S. can seize funds located in a bank’s correspondent accounts in the U.S. if there is probable cause to believe that funds subject to forfeiture are on deposit with that bank overseas. Based on this provision and others, the seizure warrants were executed. A total of $150 million was seized from BLF’s correspondent account. These funds will be transferred to a seized asset account maintained by the United States Marshals Service pending resolution of the forfeiture action.  

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Mr. Bharara thanked the DEA for its leadership and praised the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement “Strike Force” (“Strike Force”), for its outstanding work on this investigation, which he noted is ongoing. The Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, the United States Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Marshal Service, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the United States Attorney’s Office. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is a federally funded crime fighting initiative. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New Jersey State Police for their assistance.

Local Man Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Terrorist Organization

ST. LOUIS—Mohamud Abdi Yusuf, 31, was sentenced to 140 months in prison on charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, from February 2008 through at least July 2009, Yusuf conspired with others to provide money to al Shabaab, which was designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2008. Yusuf transferred money to al Shabaab under fictitious names and telephone numbers utilizing money remitting businesses operating in the United States.

Al Shabaab is a terrorist organization based in Somalia whose objective is the overthrow of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), eliminating the African Union support for TFG, and the imposing Shari’a law in Somalia. Al Shabaab has engaged in and used violence, intimidation, and acts of terrorism in Somalia and elsewhere to further its objectives.

Yusuf admitted with his plea in November to soliciting money from inside and outside the Eastern District of Missouri and coordinating the transfer of the money to al Shabaab. Members of the conspiracy frequently communicated in coded language as they planned the means by which they transferred money to al Shabaab members and affiliates in Somalia.

“This is the first international terrorism case prosecuted in Eastern Missouri since 9/11 and it represents the FBI’s number one priority in protecting this country against terrorism,” said Special Agent in Charge Dean C. Bryant of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Today’s sentence underscores our concern about people in the United States actively supporting al Shabaab, especially when its leaders publicly pledged their allegiance to al Qaeda just this past February.”

Yusuf entered guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and three counts of providing material support to a designated terrorist organization last November and appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Henry E. Autrey.

Duane Mohamed Diriye, who is a resident of Kenya, was also indicted along with Yusuf on October 21, 2010 and remains at large.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Drake and Howard Marcus are handling the case in conjunction with the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Al Shabaab Associate Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Conspiring to Support and Receive Military-Type Training from a Foreign Terrorist Organization

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced that MOHAMED IBRAHIM AHMED pled guilty today to conspiring to provide material support to and receive military-type training from al Shabaab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia. The U.S. Department of State has designated al Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. AHMED pled guilty before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed traveled a long way from his home in Sweden to Somalia, where he took up the cause of al Shabaab, a deadly terrorist organization and sworn enemy of the United States and its people. Protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism both at home and abroad is the highest priority of this office, and today’s plea is yet another victory in that fight.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said: “The guilty plea entered today, by a man so dedicated to a known terrorist group that he traveled to Somalia to train with al Shabaab and give them financial support, emphasizes the need for continued vigilance in the fight against terrorism worldwide. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners here and abroad to thwart would-be terrorists.”

NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said: “This plea is important to the ongoing efforts by the NYPD and federal partners to deter terrorist organizations and their followers, who continue in their attempts to put New York City and the United States at risk.”

According to the superseding information filed today in Manhattan federal court and prior court filings:

In early 2009, AHMED left his home in Sweden and traveled to Somalia in order to support and receive military-type training from al Shabaab. Al Shabaab has used violent means to destabilize the government of Somalia and to force the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. The group has recruited foreign fighters to join in its “holy war” in Somalia, resulting in men from other countries, including the United States, traveling there to engage in violent jihad. Al Shabaab has also made numerous public statements demonstrating its intent to harm the United States.

While in Somalia, AHMED contributed approximately 3,000 Euros to al Shabaab, received training and instruction with respect to bomb-making and bomb-detonation, and purchased an AK-47 rifle, additional magazines, and two grenades. AHMED subsequently provided the rifle and magazines to an al Shabaab military commander.

AHMED, 38, a native of Eritrea and a lawful resident of Sweden, was arrested in Nigeria in November 2009. On March 6, 2010, AHMED was transferred to the custody of the United States and subsequently transported to the Southern District of New York for prosecution.

AHMED pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (al Shabaab) and one count of conspiracy to receive military-type training from a Foreign Terrorist Organization (al Shabaab). He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Castel on November 2, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York-based Joint Terrorism Task Force—which principally consists of special agents of the FBI and detectives of the New York City Police Department. He also expressed gratitude to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. Department of State for their extraordinary assistance in the case. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Governments of Sweden and Nigeria for their assistance in this matter.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Naftalis, John P. Cronan, Rachel P. Kovner, and Christopher LaVigne are in charge of the prosecution.

Chicago Man Sentenced to Over Seven Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Funds to Support al Qaeda in Pakistan

CHICAGO—A Chicago man who personally provided hundreds of dollars to an alleged terrorist leader with whom he had met in his native Pakistan, was sentenced today to 7.5 years in federal prison for attempting to provide additional funds to the same individual after learning he was working with al Qaeda. The defendant, Raja Lahrasib Khan, a Chicago taxi driver and native of Pakistan who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988, pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, following his arrest in March 2010.

Khan, 58, of the city’s north side, displayed “toxic altruism” U.S. District Judge James Zagel said in imposing the 90-month sentence, followed by lifetime supervised release, in Federal Court in Chicago. In addition, the judge said it was a “profoundly aggravating factor” that Khan’s crime occurred after he voluntarily chose to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Although Khan’s actual donations (approximately $500 to $550) and attempted donation ($1,000) were, relatively speaking, not incredibly substantial amounts, donations need not be large to be of assistance to terrorist organizations, the government argued, and the judge noted as well.

Khan’s plea agreement called for an agreed sentence of between five and eight years in prison, and it requires Khan to cooperate with the government in any matter in which he is called upon to assist through the termination of his sentence and any period of supervised release.

The sentence was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Khan, who was born and resided in the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan before immigrating to the United States in the late 1970s, admitted that he met with Ilyas Kashmiri, a leader of the Kashmir independence movement, in Pakistan in the early to mid-2000s and again in 2008. At the time of the second meeting, Khan knew or had reason to believe that Kashmiri was working with al Qaeda, in addition to leading attacks against the Indian government in the Kashmir region. During their 2008 meeting, Kashmiri told Khan that Osama bin Laden was alive, healthy, and giving orders, and Khan gave Kashmiri approximately 20,000 Pakistani rupees (approximately $200 to $250), which he intended Kashmiri to use to support attacks against India.

On November 23, 2009, Khan sent approximately 77,917 rupees (approximately $930) from Chicago to an individual in Pakistan, via Western Union, and then directed the individual by phone to give Kashmiri approximately 25,000 rupees (approximately $300). Although Khan intended the funds to be used by Kashmiri to support attacks against India, he was also aware that Kashmiri was working with al Qaeda.

In February and March 2010, Khan participated in several meetings with an undercover law enforcement agent who posed as someone interested in sending money to Kashmiri to purchase weapons and ammunition, but only if Kashmiri was working with al Qaeda, as well as sending individuals into Pakistan to receive military-style training so they could conduct attacks against U.S. forces and interests. On March 17, 2010, the undercover agent provided Khan with $1,000, which Khan agreed to provide to Kashmiri. Khan then gave the funds to his son, who was traveling from the United States to the United Kingdom, intending to later retrieve the money from his son in the U.K. and subsequently provide it to Kashmiri in Pakistan.

On March 23, 2010, Khan’s son arrived at an airport in the U.K. and a search by U.K. law enforcement officials yielded seven of the 10 $100 bills that the undercover agent had provided to Khan. After learning of his son’s detention, Khan attempted to end his involvement in the scheme to provide funds to Kashmiri by requesting an urgent meeting with another individual who was also present at Khan’s earlier meetings with the undercover agent. During their meeting, Khan demanded to return the undercover agent’s funds by providing $800 to this other individual.

The investigation was conducted by the Chicago FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, with particular assistance from the Chicago Police Department, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Veatch and Heather McShain and DOJ trial attorney Joseph Kaster, of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Texas Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Material Support to al Qaeda

HOUSTON—Barry Walter Bujol, Jr., a 30-year-old Hempstead, Texas resident and former student at Prairie View A&M University, has been sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Kenneth Magidson announced today, along with Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Bujol was convicted November 14, 2011 of attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Just moments ago, U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed Bujol the statutory maximum sentence, ordering him to serve 180 months in prison for attempting to provide material support to AQAP and 60 months in prison for aggravated identity theft, which will be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 240 months in prison.

“We do not take matters of potential national security lightly,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson. “This case and its successful resolution represents our commitment to making our communities a safer place to live.”

Bujol requested a bench trial before Judge Hittner, which lasted nearly four days, during which he acted as his own attorney. The United States presented a total of 325 trial exhibits and 12 witnesses, which resulted in Bujol’s convictions for both attempt to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization as well as aggravated identity theft.

Evidence revealed Bujol had asked Anwar Al-Aulaqi, a now-deceased Yemeni-American AQAP associate, for advice on raising money for the “mujahideen” without attracting police attention and on his duty as a Muslim to make “violent jihad.” Al-Aulaqi replied by sending Bujol a document entitled “42 Ways of Supporting Jihad,” which asserted that “‘jihad’ is the greatest deed in Islam...[and] obligatory on every Muslim.” Court records indicated the “jihad” Al-Aulaqi advocated involved violence and killing.

In 2009, Bujol made three attempts to depart the United States for the Middle East, but law enforcement, believing these were Bujol’s efforts to make “violent jihad,” thwarted him each time he tried to leave. Bujol eventually told a confidential source he desired to fight with the “mujahideen.” The source testified at trial, explaining that each time he told Bujol he would be joining AQAP, Bujol replied by saying, “God willing” in Arabic.

To prove his worth to the source and AQAP, Bujol performed numerous purported “training exercises,” often involving surveillance detection and covert means of communication. Moreover, Bujol repeatedly told the source that AQAP should attack the human beings essential to operate military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) instead of attacking the UAVs themselves. Bujol suggested multiple targets, including one in the Southern District of Texas.

Bujol was arrested on May 30, 2010 after boarding a ship docked at the Port of Houston. He believed the ship was bound for Algeria, where he would stay at an al Qaeda safe house before continuing on to Yemen. Bujol intended to stow away to join AQAP and to deliver items to AQAP that a confidential source had given him. The items included two public access restricted military manuals, global position system receivers, pre-paid international calling cards, SIM cards, and approximately 2,000 in Euros, among other items. Bujol secured these items in his baggage and quickly boarded the ship. Minutes after stowing away in a room on board the ship, agents took him into custody without incident.

Simultaneously, agents executed a search warrant on his apartment and his laptop computer. On the computer, agents found a home-made video montage of still photographs, including images of Osama bin Laden, Najibullah Zazi, and multiple armed “mujahideen” fighters, which Bujol narrated. On the video, which was offered into evidence at trial, he addressed his words to his wife, explaining that he had left her suddenly and without forewarning to pursue “jihad.” Bujol told her he would likely not see her until the afterlife.

The aggravated identity theft charge, of which he was also convicted, stemmed from a false transportation worker identity card (purporting to be a card issued by the Transportation Security Administration) that Bujol possessed to access the Port of Houston. Bujol supplied the confidential source with a passport photo and a false name and the source used these materials to acquire the false card for use in the sting operation. On the night of the operation, Bujol used the false card to gain access to the port.

Bujol has been in federal custody since his May 30, 2010, where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This multi-agency investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Bryan, Texas—comprised of the Brazos County, Texas Sheriff’s Office; the Texas A&M University Police Department; the Bryan Police Department; the U.S. Secret Service;, the Waller County, Texas Sheriff’s Office; and the College, Texas Station Police Department. Other investigating agencies were the Houston FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Prairie View A&M University Department of Public Safety, the New Jersey State Police, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Houston Police Department, and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel, as well as Garrett Heenan, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. White, III.