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Defendant Sinks to New Depths
The Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), a former Columbia, Missouri-based charity, has been sentenced for transferring nearly $1.4 million to Iraq in blatant violation of federal sanctions.
Acting United States Attorney Tom Larson announced the sentencing in federal court, stating that IARA willfully violated U.S. economic sanctions on Iraq, a matter of national security. The charity’s actions not only misused its status as a charity to solicit donations but also knowingly engaged in prohibited transactions with a deputy to specially designated global terrorist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in Pakistan.
IARA’s downfall began when it hired a former member of Congress, co-defendant Mark Siljander, to act as an unregistered agent for a foreign entity. At Siljander’s direction, the charity concealed payments to him by routing them through non-profit entities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating that the reason IARA was ultimately designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as a specially designated global terrorist was its connection to al-Qaeda. The charity’s link to the terrorist organization dated back to well before September 11, 2001, and arose while Osama Bin Laden was a guest of the government of Sudan.
Further investigation revealed that IARA’s activities included purchasing a satellite telephone and delivering it to al-Qaeda operatives while Ziyad Khaleel, a fundraiser for IARA, was on travel paid for by the charity in February 1997. The satellite phone was used by al-Qaeda to direct operations and orchestrate the August 7, 1998, simultaneous bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed over 200 people.
IARA, which operated as the U.S. office of the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), an international organization headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan, took in between $1 million and $3 million in contributions annually from 1991 to 2003. The charity employed approximately six full-time employees and 10-12 part-time employees before being closed in October 2004 after being identified by the U.S. Treasury as a specially designated global terrorist organization.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, IARA and its board of directors agreed not to form a new corporation to conduct the activities that IARA formerly conducted.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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