Three More Saudis Named Terror Financiers by U.S. Treasury

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October 10, 2007 1:55 PM

The U.S. government today named three more Saudi financiers they believe are supporting terrorist groups from Saudi Arabia. So far, not one person in Saudi Arabia identified by the United States and the United Nations as a terror financier has been prosecuted by the Saudis.

"These three terrorist financiers were instrumental in raising money to fund terrorism outside Saudi Arabia," said Stuart Levey, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department.

"In order to deter other would-be donors, it is important to hold these terrorists publicly accountable," said Levey.

The individuals, Abdul Rahim Al-Talhi, Muhammad 'Abdallah Salih Sughayr and Fahd Muhammad 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Khashiban, all allegedly provided financial support to the Abu Sayyaf terror group responsible for multiple bombings and kidnappings in Southeast Asia.

In 2001, members of the Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped American citizens including the missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham. The Burnhams were held in the jungles of the Philippines for more than a year, and Martin was killed during a rescue attempt.

One of the men named today, Al-Khashiban, gave the leader of Abu Sayyaf $18,000 to conduct an attack on either the U.S. or Australian embassy in Manila in the early 2000s. That plot was later disrupted by Philippine authorities, according to the Treasury.

By being named to the Treasury list of terror financiers, any financial assets that are under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen.

Last month, the Blotter on ABCNews.com reported on the longtime frustrations of U.S. officials who say the Saudi government continues to look the other way at wealthy individuals identified as sending millions of dollars to al Qaeda.

The Saudi embassy said last month that "Saudi banks have complied with freeze requirements and have initiated investigations of transactions that suspects linked to al Qaeda may have undertaken in the past."

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