JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), once a Columbia, Missouri-based charity, has been sentenced in federal court for illegally funneling nearly $1.4 million to Iraq in violation of U.S. sanctions. The organization, now dissolved, masked its true purpose while soliciting donations intended for legitimate charitable work, instead diverting funds to a sanctioned nation and, chillingly, to individuals linked to global terrorism.
Federal prosecutors detailed a web of deceit at today’s sentencing hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich revealed that IARA “willfully violated U.S. economic sanctions on Iraq, a very important national security matter,” and further, engaged in prohibited transactions with a deputy to specially designated global terrorist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Pakistan. When flagged for its terror connections, IARA allegedly enlisted the help of co-defendant Mark Siljander, a former member of Congress, to conceal payments by routing them through other non-profit entities.
But the core of the case, Mohlhenrich stressed, lay in IARA’s deep ties to al-Qaeda. The organization was a U.S. office of the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan – a known haven for Osama Bin Laden in the years before 9/11. Evidence presented showed that Ziyad Khaleel, an IARA fundraiser based in Columbia, Missouri, delivered a satellite phone to al-Qaeda operatives in February 1997, while on IARA-funded travel. That very phone was allegedly used to coordinate the devastating August 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in over 200 deaths.
IARA pleaded guilty on July 20, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of obstructing the administration of internal revenue laws, stemming from an October 21, 2008, federal indictment. Between 1991 and 2003, IARA brought in between $1 million and $3 million annually in contributions, including funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), employing approximately 26 people.
Following its designation as a specially designated global terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2004, IARA was temporarily shuttered but later reconstituted to address the criminal charges. Now, with the case resolved, IARA has permanently dissolved as a corporation, agreeing not to re-form to conduct similar activities. Its assets – 14 bank accounts and a piece of real estate in Boone County, Missouri – have been transferred to Heifer International, Inc., an unrelated charity. $818,894 has already been delivered to Heifer International to aid farmers and drought victims in East Africa, while the real estate remains to be sold.
The case serves as a stark reminder of how seemingly legitimate charitable organizations can be exploited to fund terrorism and undermine national security. The full extent of IARA’s network and the ultimate beneficiaries of the $1,375,000 secretly sent to Iraq remain under investigation, but the message is clear: those who attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions and support terror will face federal prosecution.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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