Benevolence International Foundation Inc., a/k/a Al Bir al DaWalia
Back to 9-11 Outline997. The Benevolence International Foundation (or “BIF”), headquartered in Palos Hills, Illinois, purports to be an international charity organization involved in fundraising for charitable causes. BIF has offices in Pakistan, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Turkey, Dagestan, Georgia, China and Ingueshetia.
998. The organization known as “al Bir al Dawalia,” which translated from Arabic means “Benevolence International,” was originally founded in the 1980’s by a wealthy Saudi Arabian national named Adil Abdul Galil Batargy, who was an associate of Osama bin Laden. Adil Abdul Galil Batargy later transferred control of the organization to the current Chief Executive Officer Enaam M. Arnaout.
999. BIF was incorporated in the State of Illinois as a non-profit organization on or around March 30, 1992. One of the directors listed on the incorporation documents is Defendant Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee a/k/a Adil Abdul Galil Batargy. Enaam Arnaout has been affiliated with BIF since at least 1992.
1000. Evidence introduced in the criminal trial of United States v. Usama Bin Laden, et al., Case Number S98 Cr. 1023, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and gathered in the related investigation, demonstrated that al Qaeda sought and received a substantial amount of financial support from numerous international sources for the procurement of equipment (including weapons and communication equipment), recruitment, training, transportation, and lodging, among other expenses. In addition, al Qaeda terrorists receive training in how to avoid law enforcement and intelligence scrutiny and have a proven ability to travel surreptitiously. They are also taught to avoid putting matters in writing.
1001. Al Qaeda members have held positions in BIF and this charity is one of the organizations utilized by al Qaeda.
1002. Once money was withdrawn from the bank accounts of relief organizations, its use by al Qaeda was virtually untraceable. According to an affidavit of Special Agent Robert Walker of the FBI, an al Qaeda witness explained that the money would almost always be withdrawn in cash, and the relief organizations from whose account the money was taken would generate paperwork which indicated that all the money was being used for charitable purposes such as building mosques or schools, or providing for or clothing for the poor. According to this affidavit, only a portion of the money withdrawn was actually used for the purposes stated by the relief organizations. The remaining funds were provided to al Qaeda for whatever use al Qaeda deemed necessary. This is consistent with evidence adduced at the 1995 trial in the Southern District of New York of persons convicted of seditious conspiracy involving the 1993 plot to attack various buildings in New York. One of the defendants admitted that he had been smuggling money into the United States.
1003. On or about March 19, 2002, law enforcement authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina searched eight locations affiliated with BIF, including BIF’s offices in that country. The documents recovered included documents establishing direct communication between Enaam Arnaout and Osama bin Laden and others in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The documents included a disk found at BIF’s office in Bosnia which included scanned images of these documents.
1004. On December 16, 1994, Defendant Mohamad Jamal Khalifa, while traveling with the aforementioned Bayazid, was detained in San Francisco by American officials. At the time, Mohamad Jamal Khalifa had been living for a substantial period of time in Manila, the Philippines, and was affiliated with a number of entities, including a non-government organization known as Benevolence International Corporation (or “BIC”) and the International Islamic Relief Organization (or “IIRO”). At the time of his travel, Mohamad Jamal Khalifa had been convicted in absentia in Jordan for his alleged involvement in 1993 and 1994 in a series of bombings of public places in Jordan. Two of the principal participants in the bombing were Jordanians who had spent time with Mohamad Jamal Khalifa in the Philippines but who had then returned to Jordan to conduct these bombings and contemplated assassinations. Mohamad Jamal Khalifa was then retried – and acquitted – after his extradition from San Francisco to Jordan following the December 1994 stop. At his Jordanian trial, Mohamad Jamal Khalifa admitted to the Jordanian authorities that he had known the bombers and had sent them money.
1005. Mohamad Jamal Khalifa, alias “Abu Baraa,” is referenced on a historical document recovered in the searches of BIF locations in Bosnia in March 2002. On or about November 19, 1998, telephone toll records indicate that BIF’s Illinois office was in telephonic contact with a telephone number in Saudi Arabia used by Khalifa.
1006. Financial records obtained from Citibank indicate that in the four month period from January 4, 2000, to April 11, 2000, BIF sent nineteen (19) wire transfers from its checking account, number 980110435, in the amount of $685,560.
1007. A folder recovered in another BIF search in December 2001, indicated handwritten notations in Arabic which included the statements:
Contribute with your mujahideen brothers to repel the Crusader-Zionist attack on Muslim lands.Steeds of war projects.
1008. The reference to “steeds of war projects” is an apparent reference to a verse in the Koran which reads: “Against them [the enemies] make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies . . . .”
1009. On April 21, 1999, evidence recovered by the FBI from BIF’s office in Palos Hills, Illinois, included, among other things, a copy of a February 1999 article in the Seattle Times concerning small pox as a biological terrorism weapon. The sections of the text indicating that federal, state and local authorities are poorly prepared for a biological attack involving smallpox were highlighted. In none of BIF’s advertisements of its humanitarian causes has it ever indicated that it was dealing with the issue of small pox in any country.
1010. BIF claims to be a charitable organization but in fact is engaged in the support of various persons and groups involved in military and terrorist type activity.
1011. Enaam Arnaout has a relationship with Osama 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 BID offices and personnel.
1012. Benevolence International Foundation has had direct dealings with representatives of the Chechen insurgents as well as Hezb e Islami, a military group operating at various times in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. Benevolence International Foundation made efforts to provide the Chechen mujahideen with money, an X-ray machine, and anti-mine boots, among other things.
1013. On December 14, 2001, searches were conducted of the offices of Benevolence International Foundation in Palos Hills, Illinois, and in Newark, New Jersey, along with the home of its chief executive officer, Enaam M. Arnaout, removing materials from each place.
1014. Also on December 14, 2001, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (or “OFAC”) issued an order blocking BIF’s assets and records, pending further investigation into BIF’s ties to terrorists. Enaam M. Arnaout, Chairman of BIF, has a relationship with Osama bin Laden and key associates dating back more than a decade. The BIF is used by al Qaeda for logistical support; terrorists attempting to obtain chemical and nuclear weapons on behalf of al Qaeda have contacts with the BIF and its office personnel; and BIF has had direct dealings with al Qaeda operatives, providing them with military and financial support.
1015. According to a government witness, Enaam M. Arnaout was planning in March 2002, to leave for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
1016. Co-conspirators, aiders and abettors of the Benevolence International Foundation, a/k/a al-Birr al-Dawalia, include defendants: Benevolence International Foundation – U.S.A. (Main Office), Benevolence International Foundation – U.S.A. (East Coast Office), Benevolence International Foundation – Canada, Syed Suleman Ahmer, Enaam Mahmoud Arnaout, a/k/a Abdel del Samia, a/k/a Abu Mahmoud, Mazin M.H. Bahareth, Shahir Abdulraoof Batterjee, Zahir H. Kazmi, Muzaffar Khan, Soliman J. Khudeira, and Jamal Nyrabeh, all located, doing business or registered to do business in the United States.
1017. World Assembly of Muslim Youth is an al Qaeda front. Co-conspirators, aiders and abettors of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, a/k/a WAMY International, Inc., World Association for Muslim Youth, include defendants: WAMY International, Inc. Abdullah bin Laden, Ibrahim S. Abdullah, Mohammad bin Faris, and Dr. Mahmoud Dakhil, all located doing business or registered to do business in the United States.
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