BenevolenceInternationalFoundation

From 911Encyclopedia:

In April 2002, Enaam Arnaout, Executive Director of the Charity Organisation Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) in Illinois,was accused of having "direct links to Osama bin Laden". Arnaout denied these conenctions. On May 1st, 2002 Arnaout was arrested. The foundation's assets, as well as those of another Chicago-area Islamic charity, Global Relief Foundation, were already frozen Dec. 14, 2001 on suspicion of supporting terrorism. Both groups have sued the government, denying they have anything to do with terrorism and asking that their assets be released. According to the affidavit, the foundation sponsored the visa for a visit to Bosnia for bin Laden associate Mamdouh Salim. In May 2002, FBI agent Robert Walker testified on a letter found in March 2002 at the charity's office in Bosnia, addressed to someone named Abu Mahmood and signed Abu Al-Qaaqaa, which the agent testified were aliases used by Arnaout and bin Laden. Defense attorneys said, however, that who signed the letters was in doubt. In February 2003, Enaam Arnaout, finally pleaded guilty only to funneling money to Muslim fighters in Chechnya and Bosnia after reaching a deal with prosecutors. "This plea agreement shows that this defendant and this charity had nothing to do with al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden," Arnaout's lawyer Joseph Duffy said. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2202364 Infos on BIF at: http://www.benevolence.org/whatisbif.asp (See Al-Quaeda)