The road to Riyadh
A stillborn FBI inquiry and a money trail from the Saudi Embassy to two of the 9/11 hijackers
Congress, the FBI, and the CIA are now trying to learn whether any of the money Bayoumi spent on behalf of Almihdhar and Alhazmi came from the Saudi Embassy in Washington. Newsweek reported that Basnan first requested financial help from the Saudi Embassy in 1998, saying he needed money to cover his wife's medical problems. Princess Haifa bint Faisal, the wife of the Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, wrote several cashier's checks to Basnan's wife. She endorsed some of them to Bayoumi's wife. Proceeds from the cashed checks, investigators believe, were used by Almihdhar and Alhazmi.
Basnan and Bayoumi have left the United States and could not be reached for comment. In an interview with a Saudi-owned, London-based newspaper, Basnan denied that his wife had passed money from Princess Haifa to Bayoumi's wife.
The disclosure of the Saudi money trail has further strained ties between Washington and Riyadh. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, and Republicans and Democrats have criticized the royal family for underwriting a radical form of Islam that has been used by some adherents to countenance violence against the West. In an interview with the New York Times last week, Prince Bandar and Princess Haifa described themselves as committed to President Bush's war against terrorism and said they were "outraged" at suspicions that they would have knowingly supported anyone involved in terrorist activities.
Cash. Even before investigators began tracing the cashier's checks from Princess Haifa, government officials told U.S. News, FBI and treasury investigators had begun formal inquiries into the flow of funds through the Saudi Embassy in Washington. Bank accounts of the embassy and embassy personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity. But the government officials say investigators have taken a number of steps--not including electronic surveillance--to attempt to monitor money flows through the embassy. Of particular concern, several officials said, is cash that may have been transported under diplomatic seal from Riyadh to Washington.
Separately, U.S. government officials say, FBI and treasury investigators believe that as much as $100 million has flowed from Saudi Arabia to terrorist organizations in recent years. "We're talking about major-league businessmen who have ties to the royal family," says a senior treasury official. "Over the years, they've put funds into a lot of different mechanisms--business charities, moneymaking ventures--and routed them through offshore havens. They distance themselves from the money--it gets washed again and finally disbursed to the bad guys."
The escalating investigations come at a time when the Bush administration is receiving increasing criticism for "easing up" on the Saudis--because of concerns over both oil prices and the importance of Saudi bases if Bush authorizes an attack against Iraq. Administration officials bristle at such suggestions. "It's on the front burner," a senior official says, "at . . . the very highest levels."
With David E. Kaplan, Chitra Ragavan and Randy Dotinga
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