'US probe uncovers terror financing by Arab Bank'
Afp, Washington
US investigators have uncovered evidence that Arab Bank, one of the largest in the Middle East, has channelled tens of millions of dollars from wealthy Saudi Arabians to Palestinian groups that finance suicide bombers and their families, The Los Angeles Times reported on its website Saturday. The newspaper said the information was being turned up by the US government and lawyers suing Arab Bank. It "will give people a better understanding of the way money moves in that part of the world to support Hamas" and other militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the report quoted Stephen Kroll, a terrorism finance specialist, as saying. "It's important in focusing the public's attention on the issue of what is and what is not acceptable for banks to be involved in," Kroll was quoted as saying. Arab Bank, which is based in Jordan, is being investigated by the Justice Department, which is looking into its financial links to organisations and individuals accused of terrorism, The Times said. In 2005, the bank agreed to pay the federal government 24 million dollars in fines for violating US laws aimed at preventing terrorist financing, according to the report. The bank is also being sued in federal court in Brooklyn by Americans and Israelis injured in suicide bombings or other fighting in Israel and the occupied territories. Lawyers suing Arab Bank accuse it of facilitating acts of terrorism by providing accounts and other financial services to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and similar groups, The Times noted. Court documents charge that Arab Bank also acted as the administrator of a plan, in which suicide bombers and others designated as "martyrs" by the Palestinian Authority and other organisations were compensated for their actions, the paper added.
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