Anwar Ibrahim's Terrorist funding

Terrorist funding -
Posted by gravelrash in Gravelrash, Islam, News, Politics (Sunday September 17, 2006 at 1:05 am)
Message from Felis:

The article below deserves  all the expossure it can get and so I moved it into the front page just in case you’d like to go through it again.

The document below raises serious questions about Islamic funds in Australia, the various people who have access to them and their ties to International terrorists. Not included in the document, which is in the format of a submission, (as it was originally intended to be tabled in a Government inquiry into our terrorism laws) are serious questions about the role of various senior Australian politicians. For more detail on those questions, the following links are included. Link1, Link2, Link3


 Some evidence of terrorist financing networks in Australia and their links to foreign terrorist entities

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The purpose of this submission is to provide empirical evidence of the presence of persons in Australia who are associated with parties regarded as supporters and/or perpetrators of acts of violence against civilians in the name of Islam. This submission is therefore a submission in favour of the proposed anti-terrorism legislation.

An analysis of a terrorist financing network present at least in part here in Australia, based on evidence that is primarily in the public domain, forms the basis of the submission.

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In RE: Commercial IBT Pty Ltd (CIBT)
CIBT is a proprietary company which started life as Everich Trading (Aust) Pty Ltd in 1988. It then changed its name to Commercial Banktrust Pty Ltd, then Commercial BT Pty Ltd, and finally Commercial IBT Pty Ltd in 2002.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records show that between April 2002 and 2004, CIBT’s shareholders were two other companies. One of the two, RG Investment Management Pty Ltd, is also incorporated in Australia and had a paid–up capital of just A$ 2. This was later increased to A$50,000.
The other, QI LLC, appears to be incorporated in California ,with its principal business being listed in a Dun and Bradstreet search as being off-set printing.

Documents lodged with ASIC as at 30 July 2004 disclosed that Commercial IBT’s issued and paid up capital was AU$2,209,930,550 (AU$2.2 billion)
CIBT was also registered with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, as a registered financial corporation pursuant to section 8 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001. It was only later in June 2004 that APRA caused the name of the corporation and other particulars relating to the corporation to be removed from its register; and that the corporation ceased to be a registered entity within the meaning of subsection 5(3) of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001.

Nevertheless, incorporation under ASIC’s rules and regulations, as well the entry of its name onto the APRA register allowed CIBT to make an application to the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority ( LOFSA ) for an off-shore banking license.

LOFSA is a Malaysian Government authority which has jurisdiction over the Labuan Offshore Financial Centre, located on the island of Labuan, which lies just of the coast of the state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo.
LOFSA itself comes under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. Since 1998, the Prime Minister has also been Finance Minister.

LOFSA requires that applicants for off-shore banking licenses meet the following minimum criteria
• Be already a bank or financial institution;
• Possess sound track record;
• Accorded a good credit rating by acceptable rating agencies;
• Supervised by a competent regulatory authority; and
•Conform to generally accepted standards of international banking practices or BIS, as the case may be.

In order to meet the requirement of a good credit rating by an acceptable rating agency, CIBT approached Rating Agency of Malaysia Bhd (RAM).
RAMÂ Â issued a rating report in May 2002, which can be summarized as follows:
RAM has assigned respective long- and short-term ratings of AA1 and P1 to Commercial BT Pty Limited (“Commercial BT” or “the Bank”). The ratings reflect the stand-alone credit risk of Commercial BT. Commercial BT is an Australian-based investment bank which primarily focuses on general investment, corporate advisory services and investment banking activities. The main strength of the Bank lies in its solid balance sheet. Commercial BT, by virtue of its extensive business in the Asia-Pacific region, is also a member of the Asian Bankers Association (“ABA”). Members of ABA comprise financial institutions that are based or have operations in Asia and the Australia-Pacific region. Commercial BT has total assets of US$8.12 billion and has world-wide representation, with a staff strength of 150 employees.

LOFSA issued CIBT a license to operate a  full deposit taking bank in Labuan sometime in late 2002. LOFSA, in its annual report for the year ended 31 December 2002 states that Commercial IBT, together with Macquarie Bank Ltd, also of Australia, were the two organizations that year which were granted deposit taking licenses.

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CIBT in business


Upon being granted the license by LOFSA, CIBT issued a press release which was published in Malaysian business dailies. The stories amongst other things quoted CIBT’s president director Dr Adrian Ong saying that Labuan was specifically chosen because it is well regarded internationally for its stringent regulatory regime, competitive rates and infrastructure.

By this time CIBT was advertising itself on its website as being a full licensed bank in Labuan Malaysia involved in all aspects of banking and investment banking including receiving deposits, corporate finance and advisory, private banking, trade finance and fund and asset management. The headquarters of Commercial IBT Bank however, was listed on the website as being in Melbourne, Australia.

It described its activities in Australia as being that of a private investment bank and a registered financial institution with the Reserve Bank of Australia under the Financial Corporations Act 1974 and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority.Â

Soon after, in September 2003, a member of the opposition in the Malaysian Parliament, Husham Musa, raised questions about CIBT’s business and standing both in Malaysia and Australia. He contended, amongst other things, that CIBT was not a bank as defined by LOFSA, and hence should not have been granted the license it had in Labuan.

The Government, via the Finance Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Hashim Ismail responded by saying that CIBT had only been issued an investment banking license, and that there was therefore no need for it to be a bank in its own jurisdiction in order that it be granted a license by LOFSA.

However, as mentioned earlier, LOFSA’s own annual report of 2002, which must be tabled before Parliament explicitly states that CIBT was issued a license to operate as a deposit taking bank.

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On August 6, 2004, ASIC announced that it had obtained orders in the Supreme Court of Victoria appointing a Provisional Liquidator to Commercial IBT Pty Ltd (Commercial IBT) .

In making its application, ASIC alleged that Commercial IBT had not provided accurate and consistent information to Australian regulators. In support of this contention, ASIC submitted that Commercial IBT had provided or reported inconsistent financial data and reports to ASIC, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Taxation Office, an Australian bank, and foreign regulatory authorities and rating agencies.

In addition, ASIC said that it was concerned that Commercial IBT had inadequate accounting and financial reporting measures in place and had failed to keep proper books and records.

ASIC’s application for the appointment of a provisional liquidator to Commercial IBT was supported by APRA.

On 12 November 2004 ASIC announced that it had obtained orders in the Supreme Court of Victoria to wind-up CIBT.
RAM initially suspended the CIBT rating, pending the outcome of the ASIC investigation, without actually revoking it. This was despite the fact that CIBT’s shareholders cancelled the corporation’s shares and reduced its paid-up capital to just $2, just after ASIC gave notice that (it) would be making an application to wind-up the company . RAM withdrew the rating only after ASIC had obtained winding up orders in the Supreme Court of Victoria against CIBT .
LOFSA on the other hand, has yet to take any action against CIBT, and has allowed for the company to continue operating its bank in Labuan. LOFSA continues to list CIBT as a bank registered in Labuan, and names its chief executive, Dr Adrian Ong, a man sought by ASIC, as the bank’s contact person. According to affidavits filed by ASIC and APRA officers as well as the court appointed administrator, LOFSA is fully aware of the orders ASIC obtained against CIBT.
All this taken together with the fact that LOFSA and the Malaysian Ministry of Finance attempted to mislead the public on the issue of the actual license granted CIBT leads to one of two possible conclusions; the first, that Malaysian authorities are involved in a massive cover-up, or two, there is for some reason an unwillingness to act against CIBT even when there is evidence of suspicious dealings.

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Evidence of links between CIBT and the Al-Qaeda financier Sheik Yassin Al-Qadi


When the member of the opposition in the Malaysian Parliament , Husham Musa , raised questions about CIBT’s business in the Malaysian Parliament, he was almost immediately approached by a Malay-Muslim businessman by the name of Wan Hasni Wan Sulaiman, ( who lives and works in Kuala Lumpur,) asking him to stop probing into CIBT’s affairs .
Wan Hasni and business partner Dr Rahim Ghouse, also of Malaysia but who now lives and works in Melbourne, remain shareholders in a Malaysian incorporated company called Abrar Group Sdn Bhd. The CEO and controlling shareholder of that company is one Sheik Yassin Al-Qadi. Wan Hasni and Rahim Ghouse are no longer board members.
Sheik Yassin Al-Qadi has been named by the United States Government and the UN as one of Al-Qaeda’s main financiers. His assets are the subject of freezing orders issued pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 .
Despite having his assets frozen in the US and the UK as a result of being named in Resolution 1267 Al-Kadi remains a shareholder of Abrar as well as its chief executive in charge of the company in Malaysia. He has been given permanent residence there.
A subsidiary of that company, Abrar Discounts, is a major financier of Malaysian corporations.

When the member of the opposition in the Malaysian Parliament , Husham Musa , raised questions about CIBT’s business in the Malaysian Parliament, he was almost immediately approached by a , ( who lives and works in Kuala Lumpur,) asking him to stop probing into CIBT’s affairs .Wan Hasni and business partner , also of Malaysia but who now lives and works in Melbourne, remain shareholders in a Malaysian incorporated company called The CEO and controlling shareholder of that company is one  Wan Hasni and Rahim Ghouse are no longer board members. has been named by the United States Government and the UN as one His assets are the subject of freezing orders issued pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 .Despite having his assets frozen in the US and the UK as a result of being named in Resolution 1267 Al-Kadi remains a  as well as its chief executive in charge of the company in Malaysia. A subsidiary of that company, is a major financier of Malaysian corporations.

It appears, therefore, that Al-Qadi’s assets have been given shelter by the Malaysian Government.
Both Ghouse and Wan Hasni never had resources of their own, and are not thought of as being independently wealthy but for the capital provided them by Al-Qadi, and a slew of finance industry related licenses provided them by the former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, when he was still Minister for Finance. Ghouse remains, as he has been since 1998, a director and spokesperson of the International Free Anwar Campaign (IFCA).

The IFCA now concerns itself with returning Anwar to power. It implicated itself in the matter of Commercial IBT when , in a series of articles published on its website www.malaysia-today.net, it accused APRA and ASIC of being accomplices in a scheme to discredit Anwar Ibrahim by investigating Commercial IBT’s financial affairs.
Another IFCA director, Raja Petra Kamaruddin admitted that he attempted to prevent further questions about CIBT being raised in the Malaysian Parliament because it might effect Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar Ibrahim himself has been linked to terrorist financing, as a consequence of his directorship of the International Institute of Islamic Thought. The IIIT is suspected of financing, amongst others, the Palestinian Jihad. Anwar founded the IIIT with a number of others who have known to be members of the Muslim Brotherhood .
Anwar’s entry into mainstream politics was as a result of the intervention of the late Ismail Faruqi, who was also known to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organistation banned even in parts of the Middle East for its extremist views.
Prior to his entry into mainstream politics Anwar was better known as the young Islamic radical who founded the Malaysian Muslim Youth Force, or Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
More recently Anwar has spoken in support of Sheik Yusof Al-Qaradawy, after the latter was refused entry to Germany. Al-Qaradawy is already barred from entering the United States as a result of his support for HAMAS.
Anwar visited Australia in March 2005,and is believed to have met with local representatives of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.Anwar was a founder of WAMY USA,an organization once headed by Abullah bin Laden, brother of Osama, and which is known to have published anti-Semitic material. US investigators also found considerable overlap between the leadership of WAMY USA and the IIIT.Â
Wan Hasni is considered the key man in Commercial IBT, and is known to be the person who makes all appointments within CIBT. Both Wan Hasni and Rahim Ghouse have admitted on camera to having met with Dr Adrian Ong, CIBT’s CEO. (Recall that Wan Hasni has done more than just meet with Adrian Ong, he has also attempted to prevent investigation into the company).

Rahim Ghouse in Australia and the work of the Muslim Community Co-Operative Australia


Rahim Ghouse is today general manager in charge of the operations of the Muslim Community Cooperative of Australia. He has been involved with the Cooperative since at least 2002.
 The Cooperative says that Ghouse’s duties include bringing to the Cooperative his contacts in the international capital markets.
In September2004, at about the same time that ASIC moved against CIBT, the MCCA announced that it had secured AUD 500 million for a home equity housing loan scheme. Such a scheme is run as an alternative to the interest charged mortgage loans provided by other financiers but which are prohibited to Muslims. A scheme such as this was promoted by the Menzies Institute to make housing more affordable but failed to find backers. The MCCA on the other hand claim to have found a major local wholesale financier to back their scheme, but have so far refused to provide details as to the financier’s identity.
The MCCA came to public attention in late 2003, when it was reported that it was the owner of a rural property where Muslim cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran lived.

Rahim Ghouse is today general manager in charge of the operations of the He has been involved with the Cooperative since at least 2002. The Cooperative says that Ghouse’s duties include bringing to the Cooperative his contacts in the international capital markets.In September2004, at about the same time that ASIC moved against CIBT, the Such a scheme is run as an alternative to the interest charged mortgage loans provided by other financiers but which are prohibited to Muslims. A scheme such as this was promoted by the to make housing more affordable The MCCA on the other hand claim to have found a major local wholesale financier to back their scheme, The MCCA came to public attention in late 2003, when it was reported that it was the owner of a rural property where Muslim cleric lived.

Sheikh Omran came to public attention in September 2003 when it was reported that the Melbourne-based cleric appeared to have links with terror suspect Abu Dahdah, who was recently sentenced to 27 years in jail by a Spanish court on charges of conspiracy in the September 11 attacks and for being a leader of a terrorist group . He had also been identified as the prime mover behind the March 11 2004 terror attacks in Madrid.
Ghouse has denied any involvement in Yassin Al-Qadi’s Abrar Group since at least 1998.
However, as recently as late December 2004, Rahim, as head of the MCCA, sponsored a series of seminars in Australia on Islamic banking  at which the main speaker was the chief executive of Abrar Discounts Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yassin Al-Qadi’s Abrar Group .
He may have also hosted in Melbourne another Al-Kadi associate in July 2002, Dr Tareq Al-Suwaidan. US investigators have found that Al-Suwaidan had represented Al-Kadi’s business interest in the United States,as well as preached jihad against the West. Al-Suwaidan is known to be a leading member of the Kuwaiti Branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 He was also, together with Ghouse and Wan Hasni a director of a company called Abrar Inc. That company ceased operations in the United States when it became subject of an investigation by the FBI into the financing of a chemical company named Global Chemicals.Â
In July 2002 The Fellowship of Australian Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY) hosted their 20th Annual Conference in Melbourne. The conference brought many prominent Muslim speakers to the Australian stage including Dr. Maneh Al-Johani, President of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan, Mr. Peter Barnett A.M and Dr. Zachariah Matthews .

Ghouse has refused to either confirm or deny that he met with Al-Suwaidan during the latter’s 2002 visit.

MCCA in the community
The MCCA is active in the Muslim community, especially amongst the youth.
Working with WAMY, and Human Appeal International  (which has been accused of financing HAMAS) the MCCA has sponsored talks in Australia by various speakers who have included Shaker Elsayed ,Secretary General of the Muslim American Society (MAS), titled “Muslim Activism Against Terrorism” held in Sydney on 10 July 2004,and Anwar Ibrahim, titled ” Social Justice and Economic Empowerment” on Sunday, 20 March 2005.
Much has already been said about Anwar,so nothing need be added here .

On Shaker’s speech it is interesting to note that despite the title, he appeared more concerned with justifying actions by Muslims in support of followers of the faith who are perceived to be oppressed.

Shaker ended his speech with the following words:
“…..the plague of violence did not start with Muslims. Muslims constitute more than 73 % of the world’s refugees. There is no ho spot war region in the world where it is Muslims who are occupying other lands or torturing their subjects who are their enemies or it is Muslims who are aggressing against others. It is always the other way around. And as Muslims we stand with pride and support for anyone who sets out his life to defend his rights.”

These appear to be the same fighting words used by Muslims associations involved in the public debate throughout Australia on the matter of terrorism .
These words are described as fighting words for one must remember that ostensibly, Jihad is only justifiable in self-defence. Therefore, an argument of oppression can justify violence.

Heading the MCCA’s community programmes is a Singaporean, Zulfikar Shariff ,who has openly supported Osama bin Laden as well as Sheik Abdullah Azzam, a religious leader credited with inspiring violent jihad in modern times, as well as being a spiritual mentor to Osama.Â
The MCCA also provides funds for schools.For example it provided funds for the Minaret College, Springvale, Victoria’s school hall building project. Interestingly, the school saw it fit to use in its fund raising activities a fatwa issued by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi that calls on Muslims to donate to Muslims schools outside the Muslim world because these “serve as castles for Jihad” and “shields against the surrounding evils.”
There also appears to have been put in place an initiative to forge Muslim students into a unified whole. In this regard, the MCCA has employed a physiologist whose main duties include “building sustainable relationship between Islamic schools across Australia and become the coordinator of Young Australian Muslim of the Year (YAMY) Award (2005) and school involvement project”.

(GR: Waleed Aly’s wife, Suzanne Carland, was YAMY in 2003/4)
The psychologist Monique Toohey, a convert to Islam, has said that the YAMY project aims at “building capacity” within Islamic schools so that they might deliver a better product to the community.
On the political front, the MCCA has considerable influence over the Islamic Council of Victoria. The ICV’s president, Malcolm Thomas, is married to Nora Thomas who works at the MCCA as an administrator. The secretary of the ICV, Nail Aykan, is also a senior executive of the MCCA.The ICV’s chief executive Rowan Gould regularly distributes material onto mailing list issued by the MCCA,and appears to have a close working relationship with Rahim Ghouse.
The ICV in turn appears to have significant influence over the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) the peak Muslim body that regularly represents the Muslim community in making representations to state and federal governments. The ICV itself is represented by its Malcolm Thomas on the prime minister’s consultative committee. Another member of its board, Waleed Aly, is often quoted by media on matters concerning the proposed anti-terrorism legislation.
The ICV’s executive, including Malcolm Thomas, Rowan Gould, and Waleed Aly have all refused repeated queries sent them concerning their relationship and that of the ICV to Ghouse and his associates including Yassin Al-Kadi.

Why Australia?

The above shows how persons who have been under scrutiny for terrorist related activities overseas have had no difficulty entering Australia. This factor alone is probably the most important in explaining why the above-mentioned entities have chosen to operate from and in Australia.
On the matter of Australia being used as a base by terrorist financiers like Yassin Al-Kadi, the above shows how easy it has been to escape scrutiny by Australian regulators even when moving around very large sums of money.
In addition, it appears Yassin Al-Qadi and his backers had already tested the waters here as far back as 1998, and found that regulators here were quite forgiving and not prone to asking uncomfortable questions. This assertion is best proven by the case of the East Asian Property Group and its investments here including what is now known as the ABN-AMRO Tower on Macquarie Street.

In 1998 Lend Lease announced that it was to partner the East Asia Property Group (EAPG) in financing the building of the ABN-AMRO Tower on Macquarie Street. As was reported in the AFRÂ :
(EAPG)Â was formed in 1992 when Istethmar International, the investment company for the Saudi-based bin Mahfouz family’s holding company, took a controlling stake. One year earlier family patriarch Sheikh Khalid (bin Mahfouz)Â Â was caught up in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal, the world’s largest banking fraud. More recently the bin Mahfouz family has been linked with the owner of the suspect Sudan pharmaceutical plant destroyed by US missiles in August, Sudanese businessman Mr Salah Idris. This was verified last week when East Asia’s Hong Kong managing director Mr Paul Salnikow, told The Australian Financial Review: “Mr Idris is an adviser with the
National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia,” the bin Mahfouz family’s
major asset. The bin Mahfouz family is also said to be allegedly linked to Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, the US Government’s prime suspect in the recent bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which left more than 250 people dead. Former CIA director Mr James Woolsey
told a US Senate hearing and the American media that the owner of the plant, is a protégé of a Mr Hafous (sic) chairman of the $US23.2
billion NCB.
Sheik Khalid bin Mahfouz is said to be Sheik Yassin Al-Qadi’s financial backer. Their partnership is best described in this extract from the plaintiffs’ statement of claim in the 9-11 class action :
Yassin Abdullah al-Kadi and Muwaffaq
330. One month after the September 11, 2001 attacks, on October 12, 2001, with Executive Order 13224, President George W. Bush designated Saudi businessman Yassin al-Kadi as a terrorist entity and sponsor for financially supporting al Qaeda. As stated in a United States Department of Treasury Press Release on October 12, 2001:
Yasin al-Qadi (heads) the Saudi-based Muwafaq, (or “Blessed Relief” Foundation, an al Qaeda front that transfers millions of dollars from wealthy Saudi businessmen to bin Laden.
331. Defendant Muwaffaq (or “Blessed Relief”) was registered in the Channel Islands in 1992 but run from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Blessed Relief charity had an international presence with offices in Europe, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia and a post office box in the United States. Blessed Relief purported to conduct traditional relief work such as the distribution of food, clothing and medical equipment to victims of war or famine. Blessed Relief was endowed by Defendant Khalid bin Mahfouz, the al Qaeda financier, and run by Yassin al-Kadi. Khalid bin Mahfouz’s son, Abdulrahman bin Mahfouz, is also a director of the Blessed Relief charity.
332. Yassin al-Kadi ran Blessed Relief from 1992 until approximately 1997 with $15 to $20 million of his own money, along with contributions from other wealthy associates. Millions of dollars have been transferred to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda through Blessed Relief. An audit of the Defendant National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia in the mid-1990s, which was then run by Khalid bin Salim bin Mahfouz, reveals the transfer of $3 million for Osama bin Laden that was moved from the accounts of wealthy Saudi businessmen to Blessed Relief.
333. In a 1995 interview, Osama bin Laden identified Blessed Relief’s place in his support network, “The bin-Laden Establishment’s aid covers 13 countries . . . this aid comes in particular from the Human Concern International Society.” Osama bin Laden went on to list a number of the Human Concern International’s branches, including the Blessed Relief Society.
The EAPG remains a company controlled by the bin Mahfouz family, and continues to build its portfolio of assets in this country.


Conclusion
Australia appears to have become the jurisdiction of choice for Al-Qaeda financiers seeking a safe-haven for their assets that might be otherwise frozen in other jurisdictions.
The influence of groups associated with these persons is growing both within and without the Muslim community and its does appear as if there is a concerted effort to create here an effective Muslim lobby which can strongly influence governments.
Anecdotal evidence from the media would suggest that the objective of these efforts is to turn Australia into a supporter rather than an objector to the jihadi cause, more aligned to current European than American policies towards the Middle East.’
This objective does not however preclude the use of force in this country, this assertion evidenced by the constant use of “fighting words.” Nevertheless, it is obvious that the matters outlined above are not likely to be offences as currently defined by Australian law.

Australia appears to have become The influence of groups associated with these persons is growing both within and without the Muslim community Anecdotal evidence from the media would suggest This objective does not however preclude the use of force in this country, this assertion evidenced by the constant use of “fighting words.” Nevertheless, it is obvious that the matters outlined above are not likely to be offences as currently defined by Australian law.

However, can Australia afford to ignore the matters described above? Surely the answer to that question must be in the negative.

Thus it is submitted that the above provides arguments for:
a)Â Better surveillance of Islamic financial co-operatives, charities and other social organizations, and their officers and employees.
b)Â Closer scrutiny of all financial flows. In this regard, the roles played by ASIC and APRA need to be re-evaluated to determine if the proposed legislation ought to be broadened to cover the work of these organizations as well.
Hence, it is submitted that there is evidence in support of the case for legislation of the type proposed.

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[1] Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) company search

[2] See http://www.lofsa.gov.my/lofsa5/labiofc/offbank/guidebank.pdf

[3] Sadna Saifuddin” Commercial IBT Bank opens Labuan branch” , 5 April 2003 Business Times
[4] see archived CIBT website at http://web.archive.org/web/20030410055226/www.cibtbank.com/about.htmÂ

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[5] See ASIC press release at http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic_pub.nsf/byheadline/04-370+ASIC+winds+up+Australian-based+Malaysian+bank?openDocument
[6] see Note 1
[7] http://www.ram.com.my/custom.cfm?name=press.cfm&id=937

[8] Interview with Husham Musa

[9] See generally http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267Template.htm

[10] Dun and Bradstreet search current as of May 2004
[11] See story by Raja Petra Kamaruddin “ Does a conspiracy to GET ANWAR really exist?” and related stories at  http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/06/does-conspiracy-to-get-anwar-really.htm

[12]See paragraph 6-8 of website located at  http://www.malaysia-today.net/loonyMY/2005/06/if-fire-is-too-hot-get-out-of-kitchen.htm

[13] see story at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/53888/1/.html

[14] See the affidavit of US Customs Agent David Kane; http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/03/biheirisupp091203.pdf

[15] http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=310931&lng=1

[16]Anwar, institute linked to overseas terror group - Aussie TV report, Bernama, 23 October 2003, located at

 http://www.mca.org.my/story.asp?file=/articles/news/2003/10/25/19027.html&sec=In+The+News. Readers attention is drawn to the last paragraph that reads:

Rahim said he had no dealings with Sheikh Yassin since leaving Malaysia for Australia in 1998. “I left all these matters to Dr Wan Hasni on all the matters of Abrar,” he said. -

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[17] See advertisement at http://islamicsydney.com/story.php?id=1925

[18] See generally Abrar Discounts website located at http://www.abrardiscounts.com.my/

[19] See note 12:

[20] See the affidavit of the FBI’s Valerie Donahue. Story reported in the Wall Street Journal by Glenn R. Simpson; Tracing the Money Trail, U.S. Terror Investigators Encounter Yassin
Qadi — As Saudi Businessman’s Deals Draw Scrutiny, He Denies Any
Wrongdoing — The $2.1 Million That Vanished: 27 November 2002
The Asian Wall Street Journal

[21] see http://www.icv.org.au/ICV_Sep.pdf

[22] Email queries to Ghouse were sent in mid-2004

[23] Nick Mckenzie; Islamic charity questioned over terrorist links; ABC Radio National; 23 September 2003Â Â

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[24]For example,    Soadad Doureihi of the Hizb ut-Tahrir branch in Sydney,Australia

spoke at Sydney University on 24 August 2005, on the topic of

terrorism, invited by the Sydney University Muslims Students

Association ,as part of their Islamic Awareness Week activities.

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Soadad Doureihi’s main points were these:

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a)The war against Iraq, Afghanistan and indeed Muslims all over the

world is a continuation of the Western world’s war against political

Islam commenced by the West at the turn of the century; but which can

trace its origins back to the Crusades and indeed to the earliest days

of the Caliphate founded by the Prophet Mohamad.

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b) From the earliest days, Muslims ever only acted in self-defence;

Soadad Doureihi implied that this is the case even today, for there is

not any proof that Muslims were responsible for 9-11 or the London

bombing.

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c) Muslims today are not only being attacked by Western armies, they

are also being “coerced” into accepting the values and norms of the

West-he includes here Muslims living in the West, including Australia.

Military might and force ,as well as propaganda are the tools of

this coercion.

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d) While Muslim leaders are being “ordered” to address the issue of

terrorism , Western nations themselves are not willing to apologise

for their colonial past and its consequences which include:

i) imposition of arbitrary borders on the Muslim world

ii) purposeful division that has led to internal conflict among Muslims

iii) installation and support for corrupt regimes and rulers-these

include Mustafa Atatruk-” a puppet of the British and Americans.”

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e) That internal conflict among Muslims is a cause for what the West

calls terrorism, -and they fail to see that they must accept the

consequences of their own actions.

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Thus Hizb ut Tahir appears to justify acts of violence by Muslims by arguing that Muslims are being oppressed.

The reference to war against the Muslim world and the coercion of

Muslims in Western countries must be seen in context of the argument

that the Prophet and his followers only commenced war in self-defence.

Thus, in accordance with the Sunnah (the acts and words of the

Prophet) , it is acceptable, even required of Muslims to wage war

against those who would coerce them, and this would include the

Australian Government.

[25] See http://www.mcca.com.au/page.php?id=sponsorship&product_id=16

[26] Zulfikar Shariff arrived in Australia seeking refuge from what he claimed was religious persecution in Singapore.However,very soon after his arrival he began working to deflect media investigations into CIBT ,and then went on to work at the MCCA.Thus hre we again see a further link between CIBT ,Ghouse and radical Islam.

[27] http://web.archive.org/web/20020206160430/http://www.fateha.com/cgi-bin/newspro/qa/fullnews.cgi?newsid1001413396,19170

[28]See http://web.archive.org/web/20030508082917/http://www.fateha.com/cgi-bin/newspro/commnews/fullnews.cgi?newsid1001482954,60735

[29] http://www.minaret.vic.edu.au/news/statement.htm
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[30] http://www.mcca.com.au/page.php?id=4000&product_id=4

[31] http://www.unimas.my/kaunseling05/files/speaker_info/bio_%20moniques.htm

[32] Email query and response from Monique Toohey

[33] http://www.mcca.com.au/page.php?id=MelbBranch&product_id=63

[34] Lisa Allen, Saudi Link With Renzo Piano Tower, Australian Financial Review, 15 October 1998

[35] see Burnett v. al Baraka Investment and Dev. Corp; Case Number

1:02CV01616(JR)

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