Ptech, the CIA, FBI, SS, 911, PROMIS, Terrorists-R-US

[Peter Lemkin]

BMI and Ptech Investigations

Project: Complete 911 Timeline
Open-Content project managed by matt, Derek, Paul, KJF, mtuck,paxvector

add event | references

[COLOR=#313131]

1986-October 1999: New Jersey Firm Investors List Is Who's Who of Designated Terrorists'

[FONT=verdana]Soliman Biheiri.[Source: US Immigrations and Customs]BMI Inc., a real estate investment firm based in Secaucus, New Jersey, is formed in 1986. Former counterterrorism "tsar" Richard Clarke will state in 2003, "While BMI [has] held itself out publicly as a financial services provider for Muslims in the United States, its investor list suggests the possibility this facade was just a cover to conceal terrorist support. BMI's investor list reads like a who's who of designated terrorists and Islamic extremists." Investors in BMI include:[US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003]
Soliman Biheiri. He is the head of BMI for the duration of the company's existence. US prosecutors will later call him the US banker for the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Egyptian militant group. Biheiri's computer will eventually be searched and found to have contact information for Ghaleb Himmat and Youssef Nada, leaders of the Al Taqwa Bank, which is founded two years after BMI (see1988). After 9/11, the US and UN will designate both Himmat and Nada and the Al Taqwa Bank as terrorist financiers, and the bank will be shut down (see November 7, 2001). US prosecutors say there are other ties between BMI and Al Taqwa, including financial transactions. Biheiri also has close ties with Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi. Qaradawi is said to be a high-ranking member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a shareholder in Al Taqwa, and has made statements supporting suicide bombings against Israel. In 2003, US investigators will accuse Biheiri of ties to terrorist financing. He will be convicted of immigration violations and lying to a federal agent (see June 15, 2003). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003; FORWARD, 10/17/2003] Biheiri will be convicted of immigration fraud in 2003 and then convicted of lying to federal investigators in 2004 (see June 15, 2003).
Abdullah Awad bin Laden, a nephew of Osama bin Laden. He invests about a half-million dollars in BMI real estate ventures, earning a profit of $70,000. For most of the 1990s he runs the US branch of a Saudi charity called World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). He is investigated by the FBI in 1996 (seeFebruary-September 11, 1996), and WAMY will be raided by US agents in 2004 (see June 1, 2004). The raid is apparently part of a larger investigation into terrorism financing. In 2001, at least two of the 9/11 hijackers will live three blocks away from the WAMY office (see March 2001 and After). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003; WASHINGTON POST, 4/19/2004]
Nur and Iman bin Laden, two female relatives of Osama bin Laden. Abdullah Awad bin Laden will invest some of their money in a BMI real estate project. While their bin Laden family ties are intriguing, neither have been accused of any knowing connections to terrorist financing. [WASHINGTON POST, 4/19/2004]
Mousa Abu Marzouk. He has identified himself as a top leader of Hamas. The US declares him a terrorist in 1995 (see July 5, 1995-May 1997). BMI makes at least two transactions with Marzouk after he is declared a terrorist. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003]
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire. His lawyers will later claim he has no terrorism ties and had only a passing involvement with BMI and liquidated his investment in it in 1996. However, another company operating from the same office as BMI is called Kadi International Inc. and lists its president as al-Qadi. Al-Qadi is also a major investor in the suspect computer company Ptech (see 1994; 1999-After October 12, 2001). Al-Qadi and BMI head Biheiri have financial dealings with Yaqub Mirza, a Pakistani who manages a group of Islamic charities in Virginia known as the SAAR network (see July 29, 1983). These charities will be raided in March 2002 on suspicions of terrorism ties (see March 20, 2002). Shortly after 9/11, the US will officially declare al-Qadi a terrorist financier (seeOctober 12, 2001). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003]
Saleh Kamel. BMI allegedly receives a $500,000 investment from the Dallah Al-Baraka banking conglomerate, which is headed by Kamel. For many years before 9/11, Omar al-Bayoumi, an associate of 9/11 hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, will receive a salary from Dallah, despite apparently doing no work. Some will accuse al-Bayoumi of involvement in funding the 9/11 plot, but that remains to been proven (see August 1994-July 2001). Kamel reportedly founded a Sudanese Islamic bank which housed accounts for senior al-Qaeda operatives. He is a multi-billionaire heavily involved in promoting Islam, and his name appears on the Golden Chain, a list of early al-Qaeda supporters (see 1988-1989). He denies supporting terrorism. [US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003; WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/21/2004]
The Kuwait Finance House. According to Clarke, this organization is alleged to be a BMI investor and the "financial arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait. Several al-Qaeda operatives have allegedly been associated with the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Suliman abu Ghaith, Wadih El-Hage, and Ramzi Yousef." In 2003, an apparent successor entity to the Kuwait Finance House will be designated as a terrorist entity by the US. A lawyer for the Kuwait Finance House will later say the bank has never let its accounts be used for terrorism. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003; US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003; WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/20/2005]
Tarek Swaidan. He is a Kuwaiti, an associate of al-Qadi, and a leading member of the Kuwaiti branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is unknown if he has made any denials about his alleged associations. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/15/2003]
Abdurahman Alamoudi. For many years he runs the American Muslim Council, a lobby group founded by a top Muslim Brotherhood figure. US prosecutors say he also is in the Brotherhood, and has alleged ties to Hamas. In 2004, the US will sentence him to 23 years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/21/2004; WASHINGTON POST, 10/16/2004]
The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League, closely connected Saudi charities suspected of financing terrorism. They give BMI $3.7 million out of a $10 million endowment from unknown Saudi donors. The Financial Times will later note, "While it is not clear whether that money came from the Saudi government, [a 2003] affidavit quotes a CIA report that says the Muslim World League is largely financed by the government of Saudi Arabia.'" Both organizations consistently deny any support of terrorism financing, but in early 2006 it will be reported that US officials continue to suspect them of such support (see January 15, 2006). [FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/21/2003] In 1992, a branch of the IIRO gives $2.1 million to BMI Inc. to invest in real estate. The money disappears from BMI's books. In October 1999, BMI goes defunct after it is unable to repay this money to the IIRO branch. The IIRO branch gives BMI the rest of the $3.7 million between 1992 and 1998. BMI will use the money to buy real estate (see 1992). Eventually, some of this money will be given to Hamas operatives in the West Bank and spent on violent actions against Israel. This will eventually lead to legal action in the US and a seizure of some of the money. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/26/2002; WASHINGTON POST, 8/20/2003; WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/26/2004; WASHINGTON POST, 4/19/2004] By 1992, BMI has projected revenues in excess of $25 million, based largely on their real estate investments in the US. [US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003] In early 1999, months before BMI goes defunct, the FBI hears evidence potentially tying BMI to the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998), but an investigation into this will not be pursued (see Early 1999). It should be noted that BMI had many investors, and presumably most BMI investors would have had no suspicions that their money might be used to fund terrorism or other types of violence.
Entity Tags: Iman bin Laden, International Islamic Relief Organization,Muslim World League, Kuwait Finance House, Nur bin Laden, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Abdurahman Alamoudi, Richard A. Clarke, Soliman Biheiri, Abdullah Awad bin Laden, Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi,Tarek Swaidan, Yassin al-Qadi, Saleh Abdullah Kamel
[B]Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, Bin Laden Family, BMI and Ptech[/B]
[B][/B]


[B]

Mid-1990s: Al-Qadi Claims Good Relationship with Cheney

Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi will say in an interview shortly after 9/11, "I have also met with US Vice President and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in Jeddah [Saudi Arabia] when he came for a lecture organized by the Dallah Group. I spoke to him for a long time and we still have cordial relations." The US had named al-Qadi a supporter of terrorism and frozen his assets two days before (see October 12, 2001). Oussama Ziade, CEO of Ptech, a US computer company that al-Qadi had invested in (see 1994) and that will be raided for suspected terrorism ties (see December 5, 2002), later will claim that al-Qadi "talked very highly of his relationship" with Cheney. Ziade will claim he only knew al-Qadi for a few years starting around 1994, so presumably the contact between al-Qadi and Cheney happens during the mid-1990s. A newspaper will report later that when a Cheney spokeswoman is asked about his possible ties to al-Qadi, she replies that "she had no reason to believe the vice president had met with al-Qadi". Al-Qadi claims to be a respected businessman who met other important leaders such as ex-President Jimmy Carter. [ARAB NEWS, 10/14/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003; COMPUTERWORLD, 1/17/2003] The US will declare al-Qadi a terrorism financier shortly after 9/11 (seeOctober 12, 2001), and the Dallah Group will be accused of funding al-Qaeda (see November 22, 2002).
[B]Entity Tags: Yassin al-Qadi, Dallah Al-Baraka, Richard ("Dick") Cheney
[B]Category Tags: Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech[/B]

[/B][/B]
[B][B]

1992: Militant Financial Front Said to Fund Terrorism Through Real Estate Investments in US

The Barnaby Knolls housing development, another Washington, DC, suburb funded by BMI Inc.[Source: Susan Biddle/ Washington Post]BMI Inc., is a New Jersey-based Muslim investment firm. Some of the lead investors have been suspected of supporting terrorism and other types of violence in the Middle East (see1986-October 1999). In 1992, a branch of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), a Saudi charity gives $2.1 million to BMI to invest in real estate. The money disappears from BMI's books. By 1996, the CIA will secretly report that the IIRO supports terrorism financing in many locations around the world (see January 1996). In October 1999, BMI will go defunct after it is unable to repay this money to the IIRO branch. Additionally, the IIRO branch will give BMI over a million dollars between 1992 and 1998. BMI uses some money from the IIRO and other investors to build houses in Oxon Hill, a Washington, D.C., suburb. Many well to do Muslims invest in the housing development because BMI advertises itself as investing according to Islamic principles. Most of the small investors as well as the middle class Americans who buy the Oxon Hill houses do not realize that the profits from the property sales go to Mousa Abu Marzouk, a known leader of Hamas. Marzouk is said to make $250,000 in profits from BMI real estate deals in the early 1990s. In 2004, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement court declaration will assert that significant amounts of cash obtained from BMI by Marzouk is eventually used "in furtherance of Hamas terrorist operations." [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/26/2002;WASHINGTON POST, 8/20/2003; WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/26/2004; WASHINGTON POST, 4/19/2004]By the end of 1992, BMI will have projected revenues in excess of $25 million based largely on their real estate investments in the US. [US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003]
[B]Entity Tags: Mousa Abu Marzouk, International Islamic Relief Organization, BMI Inc., Hamas
[B]Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

1994: Ptech Founded with Support from Suspected Terrorism Financiers

Oussama Ziade.[Source: Beta Consulting]Ptech is founded in 1994 by Oussama Ziade, Hussein Ibrahim, and James Cerrato. Ziade came from Lebanon to study at Harvard University. As the Associated Press will describe it, Ptech's "idea was to help complicated organizations like the military and large companies create a picture of how their assetspeople and technologywork together. Then the software could show how little changes, like combining two departments, might affect the whole." They raise $20 million to start the company. A number of Ptech employees and investors will later be suspected of having ties to groups that have been designated by the US as terrorist organizations: [CNN, 12/6/2002; WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003]
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire. He will invest $5 million of Ptech's start-up money. The US will declare him an al-Qaeda financier shortly after 9/11 (see October 12, 2001). In 1998, al-Qadi will come under investigation by FBI agent Robert Wright (see October 1998) for potential ties to the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Al-Qadi is also a major investor in BMI Inc., an investment firm with connections to a remarkable number of suspected terrorist financiers (see 1986-October 1999). Al-Qadi later will claims that he sold his investment in Ptech in 1999, but there will be evidence he may continue to hold a financial stake after that year, and even after the US will officially declare him a terrorism financier (see 1999-After October 12, 2001). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; WASHINGTON POST, 12/7/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003]
Gamel Ahmed, Ptech's comptroller in the mid-1990s. One al-Qadi loan Wright will investigate also involves Ahmed. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003]
Hussein Ibrahim, Ptech vice president and chief scientist. He also serves as vice president and then president of BMI from 1989 until 1995. He has no known direct terrorism finance connections, but it has been reported that al-Qadi brought Ibrahim into Ptech as his representative. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; WBZ 4 (BOSTON), 12/9/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003]
Soliman Biheiri. He is the head of BMI and a member of Ptech's board. US prosecutors will later call him the US banker for the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Egyptian militant group. He will later be convicted for lying and immigration fraud (see June 15, 2003). [FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE, 6/17/2005]
Abdurahman Alamoudi. He is one of Ptech's founders, as well as an investor in BMI. In 2004, the US will sentence him to 23 years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004). [WASHINGTON POST, 10/16/2004; FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE, 6/17/2005]
Muhammed Mubayyid and Suheil Laheir. Neither have any known direct ties to terrorism financing. However, both are longtime Ptech employees whom formerly worked for Care International, a Boston-based suspect Islamic charity (not to be confused with a large international charity having the same name). [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002] In 2005, Mubayyid will be charged with conspiring to defraud the US and making false statements to the FBI. Care International had previously been the Boston branch of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center (see [a0493kifahboston]]) and a recruitment office for Mektab al Khidmat (MAK), the precursor organization to al-Qaeda (see1985-1989). Laheir, Ptech's chief architect, wrote many articles in support of Islamic holy war. He frequently quoted Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden's mentor. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/13/2005; FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE, 6/17/2005]
Yaqub Mirza. He is a Ptech investor and on a Ptech advisory board. He directs SAAR, a multi-million dollar network of companies and charities in Herndon, Virginia (see July 29, 1983). In March 2002, US investigators will raid the SAAR network for suspected terrorism ties (see March 20, 2002). In late 2002, the Wall Street Journal will report, "US officials privately say Mr. Mirza and his associates also have connections to al-Qaeda and to other entities officially listed by the US as sponsors of terrorism." [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; WBZ 4 (BOSTON), 12/9/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003]
BMI itself directly invests in Ptech. It also gives Ptech a founding loan, and leases Ptech much of its office and computer equipment. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/3/2003] Ptech president Ziade and other Ptech employees will claim that all of their ties to suspected terrorist financiers are coincidental. By 2002, Ptech will have annual revenues of up to $10 million. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002] Ptech's potential ties to suspected terrorist financiers will be of particular concern because of its potential access to classified government information (see 1996-1997).[WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; BOSTON GLOBE, 12/7/2002] Joe Bergantino, a CBS journalist who will be the first to report on Ptech, will say of Ptech in 2002, "The worst-case scenario is that this is a situation where this was planned for a very long time to establish a company in this country and in the computer software business that would target federal agencies and gain access to key government data to essentially help terrorists launch another attack." [NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, 12/8/2002]
[B]Entity Tags: Oussama Ziade, Hussein Ibrahim, James Cerrato,Muhammed Mubayyid, Gamel Ahmed, Care International (Boston),Yassin al-Qadi, Al-Qaeda, Yacub Mirza, BMI Inc., Suheil Laheir,Abdurahman Alamoudi, Soliman Biheiri, Ptech Inc.
[B]Category Tags: Terrorism Financing, Al-Kifah/MAK, BMI and Ptech[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

Shortly After March 1994: US Learns Bin Laden Gave Prominent Muslim Activist Money for Blind Sheikh'

Alamoudi, center, with Vice President Gore, left, and President Clinton, right. This picture is from a 1997 American Muslim Council newsletter and was presumably taken around that time. [Source: CAIR]Abdo Mohammed Haggag, speechwriter for the "Blind Sheikh," Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman, makes a deal and agrees to testify against Abdul-Rahman in an upcoming US trial. [NEW YORK TIMES, 6/26/1994] He soon reveals that bin Laden has been paying for Abdul-Rahman's living expenses since Abdul-Rahman moved to the US in 1990 (see July 1990). This is one of the first things that causes US intelligence to become interested in bin Laden. [MILLER, STONE, AND MITCHELL, 2002, PP. 147-148] Further, Haggag reveals that the money was funneled through Abdurahman Alamoudi and his organization, the American Muslim Council. "Investigators tried to prove Alamoudi was a terror middleman but could not find smoking gun' evidence. That allowed Alamoudi to became a politically connected Muslim activist and co-founder of the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council, which helps the US military select Muslim chaplains." [NEW YORK POST, 10/1/2003]This same year, Alamoudi will be one of the founders of Ptech, a US computer company with suspected terrorism ties (see1994). It will later be alleged that he was able to operate with impunity for years due to his close ties to Grover Norquist, a powerful Republican lobbyist (see March 20, 2002). In 2004, the US will sentence him to 23 years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004).
[B]Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, American Muslim Council, Abdo Mohammed Haggag, Abdurahman Alamoudi, Omar Abdul-Rahman
[B]Category Tags: 1993 WTC Bombing, Osama Bin Laden, Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

1995-1998: Alleged Ties Between Al-Qadi Charity and Terrorist Groups Are Uncovered; No Action Taken

Beginning in 1995, evidence begins to appear in the media suggesting that a Saudi charity named the Muwafaq Foundation has ties to radical militants. The foundation is run by a Saudi multimillionaire named Yassin al-Qadi.
In 1995, media reports claim that Muwafaq is being used to fund mujaheddin fighters in Bosnia (see 1991-1995).
Also in 1995, Pakistani police raid the foundation's Pakistan branch in the wake of the arrest of WTC bomber Ramzi Yousef (see February 7, 1995). The head of the branch is held for several months, and then the branch is closed down. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/29/2001]
A secret CIA report in January 1996 says that Muwafaq is has ties to the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya militant group and helps fund mujaheddin fighting in Bosnia and at least one training camp in Afghanistan (see January 1996).
In February 1996, bin Laden says in an interview that he supports the Muwafaq branch in Zagreb, Croatia (which is close to the fighting in neighboring Bosnia). [GUARDIAN, 10/16/2001]
A senior US official will later claim that in 1998, the National Commercial Bank, one of the largest banks in Saudi Arabia, ran an audit and determined that the Muwafaq Foundation gave $3 million to al-Qaeda. Both al-Qadi and the bank later claim that the audit never existed. Al-Qadi asserts he has no ties to any terrorist group. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/29/2001] In 2003, former counterterrorism "tsar" Richard Clarke will elaborate on this allegation, saying to a Senate committee, "Al-Qadi was the head of Muwafaq, a Saudi relief organization' that reportedly transferred at least $3 million, on behalf of Khalid bin Mahfouz, to Osama bin Laden and assisted al-Qaeda fighters in Bosnia." [US CONGRESS, 10/22/2003] (Note that bin Mahfouz, a Saudi billionaire, denies that he ever had any sort of tie to bin Laden or al-Qaeda and has not been officially charged of such ties anywhere.) [BIN MAHFOUZ INFO, 11/22/2005]
Al-Qadi will claim that he shut down Muwafaq in 1996, but it is referred to in UN and German charity documents as doing work in Sudan and Bosnia through 1998. [GUARDIAN, 10/16/2001; BBC, 10/20/2001]
Shortly after 9/11, the US Treasury Department will claim that Muwafaq funded Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK)/Al-Kifah (the predecessor of al-Qaeda), al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Abu Sayyaf (a Philippines militant group with ties to al-Qaeda), and other militant Islamic groups. [FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE, 6/17/2005]
However, despite all of these alleged connections, and the fact that the US will officially label al-Qadi a terrorism financier shortly after 9/11 (see October 12, 2001), the Muwafaq Foundation has never been officially declared a terrorist supporting entity. An October 2001 New York Times article will say that the reason, "administration officials said, was the inability of United States officials to locate the charity or determine whether it is still in operation." But the same article will also quote a news editor, who calls Muwafaq's board of directors "the creme de la creme of Saudi society." [NEW YORK TIMES, 10/13/2001]
[B]Entity Tags: Yassin al-Qadi, United Nations, US Department of the Treasury, Osama bin Laden, Hamas, Muwafaq Foundation, National Commercial Bank, Abu Sayyaf, Khalid bin Mahfouz, Switzerland, Al-Qaeda
[B]Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech[/B]

[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

1996-1997: Ptech Begins to Get US Government Contracts

Ptech logo. [Source: Ptech]Ptech is a Boston computer company connected to a number of individuals suspected of ties to officially designated terrorist organizations (see 1994). These alleged ties will be of particular concern because of Ptech's potential access to classified government secrets. Ptech specializes in what is called enterprise architecture. It is the design and layout for an organization's computer networks. John Zachman, considered the father of enterprise architecture, later will say that Ptech could collect crucial information from the organizations and agencies with which it works. "You would know where the access points are, you'd know how to get in, you would know where the weaknesses are, you'd know how to destroy it." Another computer expert will say, "The software they put on your system could be collecting every key stroke that you type while you are on the computer. It could be establishing a connection to the outside terrorist organization through all of your security measures." [WBZ 4 (BOSTON), 12/9/2002] In late 1996, an article notes that Ptech is doing work for DARPA, a Defense Department agency responsible for developing new military technology. [GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE, 9/1/1996] In 1997, Ptech gains government approval to market its services to "all legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the federal government." Beginning that year, Ptech will begin working for many government agencies, eventually including the White House, Congress, Army, Navy, Air Force, NATO, FAA, FBI, US Postal Service, Secret Service, the Naval Air Systems Command, IRS, and the nuclear-weapons program of the Department of Energy. For instance, Ptech will help build "the Military Information Architecture Framework, a software tool used by the Department of Defense to link data networks from various military computer systems and databases." Ptech will be raided by US investigators in December 2002 (see December 5, 2002), but not shut down. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/6/2002; CNN, 12/6/2002; NEWSWEEK, 12/6/2002; BOSTON GLOBE, 12/7/2002] A former director of intelligence at the Department of Energy later will say he would not be surprised if an al-Qaeda front company managed to infiltrate the department's nuclear programs. [UNLIMITED (AUCKLAND), 12/9/2002]Ptech will continue to work with many of these agencies even after 9/11. After a Customs Department raid of Ptech's offices in late 2002, their software will be declared safe of malicious code. But one article will note, "What no one knows at this point is how much sensitive government information Ptech gained access to while it worked in several government agencies." [WBZ 4 (BOSTON), 12/9/2002]
[B]Entity Tags: White House, US Department of Defense, US Department of the Air Force, US Department of the Navy, US Secret Service,Federal Bureau of Investigation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US Postal Service, Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of the Marines, Internal Revenue Service, US Congress,Ptech Inc., John Zachman, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, US Congress
[B]Category Tags: BMI and Ptech, Terrorism Financing[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

April 1998: FBI Agent Stifles Investigation into Ptech Figures

John Vincent.[Source: Patriot TV]FBI agent Robert Wright will later recall that at this time, he is pleasantly surprised when FBI management provides his Vulgar Betrayal investigation with a 10 year veteran agent to assist with his efforts. According to Wright, the unnamed agent is assigned to "investigate a company and its 20-plus subsidiaries which were linked to a major financer of international terrorism." However, Wright and fellow agent John Vincent will soon become dismayed when they realize the agent is not actually doing any work. He merely shuffles papers to look busy when people walk by. He will continue to do no work on this important assignment until the Vulgar Betrayal investigation is effectively shut down one year later (see August 3, 1999). Wright will claim in 2003, "The important assignment he was given involved both the founder and the financier of Ptech." Presumably these could be references to Oussama Ziade, the president and chief founder of Ptech, and Yassin al-Qadi, apparently Ptech's largest investor.[FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE, 6/2/2003]
[B]Entity Tags: Oussama Ziade, Yassin al-Qadi, Robert G. Wright, Jr.,Vulgar Betrayal, Ptech Inc., Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Vincent
[B]Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

October 1998: Vulgar Betrayal Investigation Nearly Shut Down

Mark Flessner.Two months after the US embassy bombings in Africa (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998), FBI agent Robert Wright and his Vulgar Betrayal investigation discover evidence they think ties Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi to the bombings. Since 1997, Wright had been investigating a suspected terrorist cell in Chicago that was connected to fundraising for Hamas. They discovered what they considered to be clear proof that al-Qadi and other people they were already investigating had helped fund the embassy bombings. Wright asks FBI headquarters for permission to open an investigation into this money trail at this time, but the permission is not granted. Wright will later recall, "The supervisor who was there from headquarters was right straight across from me and started yelling at me: You will not open criminal investigations. I forbid any of you. You will not open criminal investigations against any of these intelligence subjects.'" Instead, they are told to merely follow the suspects and file reports, but make no arrests. Federal prosecutor Mark Flessner, working with the Vulgar Betrayal investigation, later will claim that a strong criminal case was building against al-Qadi and his associates. "There were powers bigger than I was in the Justice Department and within the FBI that simply were not going to let [the building of a criminal case] happen. And it didn't happen.… I think there were very serious mistakes made. And I think, it perhaps cost, it cost people their lives ultimately." [ABC NEWS, 12/19/2002] Flessner later will speculate that Saudi influence may have played a role. ABC News will report in 2002, "According to US officials, al-Qadi [has] close personal and business connections with the Saudi royal family." [ABC NEWS, 11/26/2002] Wright later will allege that FBI headquarters even attempted to shut down the Vulgar Betrayal investigation altogether at this time. He says, "They wanted to kill it." [ABC NEWS, 12/19/2002] However, he will claim, "Fortunately an assistant special agent in Chicago interceded to prevent FBI headquarters from closing Operation Vulgar Betrayal." [FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE, 6/2/2003]He claims that a new supervisor will write in late 1998, "Agent Wright has spearheaded this effort despite embarrassing lack of investigative resources available to the case, such as computers, financial analysis software, and a team of financial analysts. Although far from being concluded, the success of this investigation so far has been entirely due to the foresight and perseverance of Agent Wright." [FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE, 5/30/2002] When the story of this interference in the alleged al-Qadi-embassy bombings connection will be reported in late 2002, Wright will conclude, "September the 11th is a direct result of the incompetence of the FBI's International Terrorism Unit. No doubt about that. Absolutely no doubt about that. You can't know the things I know and not go public." He will remain prohibited from telling all he knows, merely hinting, "There's so much more. God, there's so much more. A lot more." [ABC NEWS, 12/19/2002]
[B]Entity Tags: Yassin al-Qadi, Hamas, US Department of Justice,International Terrorism Unit, Mark Flessner, Robert G. Wright, Jr., Al-Qaeda, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Vulgar Betrayal
[B]Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech, Counterterrorism Action Before 9/11, 1998 US Embassy Bombings[/B]


[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B]

Early 1999: FBI Fails to Pursue Possible Connection Between BMI and Embassy Bombings

BMI Inc. is a New Jersey-based investment firm with connections to a remarkable number of suspected terrorist financiers (see1986-October 1999). In 1999, a former BMI accountant contacts the FBI and says that he believes BMI is supporting terrorism. He claims that money he "was transferring overseas on behalf of the company may have been used to finance the embassy bombings in Africa."(see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998) US investigators establish a financial link between BMI and an Islamic charity named Mercy International. A Nairobi, Kenya, branch of that charity helped support the embassy bombings. FBI agent Robert Wright's Vulgar Betrayal investigation had recently discovered evidence suggesting a link between Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi and the embassy bombings (seeOctober 1998), and al-Qadi is a major investor of BMI. The Vulgar Betrayal investigation begins looking at this new possible link. BMI president Soliman Biheiri hears that FBI agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz has been told about this, and he asks to meet with Abdel-Hafiz to explain. Apparently, he does not realize that Abdel-Hafiz is an undercover FBI agent. Wright asks Abdel-Hafiz to wear a wire to the meeting, and Abdel-Hafiz refuses to do so (see Early 1999-March 21, 2000). Apparently the meeting with Biheiri never takes place and the possible connections between BMI and the embassy bombings are not fully investigated before 9/11. [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/26/2002; WASHINGTON POST, 8/20/2003; FRONTLINE, 10/16/2003]
[B]Entity Tags: Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, Mercy International, Federal Bureau of Investigation, BMI Inc., Soliman Biheiri, Robert G. Wright, Jr.,Vulgar Betrayal
[B]Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, BMI and Ptech,Terrorism Financing, 1998 US Embassy Bombings[/B]

[/B][/B][/B]
[B][B][B]

Early 1999-March 21, 2000: Muslim FBI Agent Refuses to Wear Wire in Meeting with BMI Head; FBI Infighting Follows

Gamal Abdel-Hafiz. [Source: Charles Ommanney]Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, one of only a few Muslim FBI agents in the years just prior to 9/11, becomes involved in FBI agent Robert Wright's Vulgar Betrayal investigation in early 1999. An accountant working for BMI Inc., an investment firm with connections to many suspected terrorism financiers (see 1986-October 1999), tells Abdel-Hafiz that he is worried that BMI funds had helped fund the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). BMI president Soliman Biheiri hears that Abdel-Hafiz had been told about this, and wants to meet with him to discuss it (apparently without realizing that Abdel-Hafiz is an undercover FBI agent). Wrights asks Abdel-Hafiz to wear a wire to the meeting, but Abdel-Hafiz refuses to do so. This leads to infighting within the FBI. On July 6, 1999, Abdel-Hafiz files a religious discrimination complaint, accusing Wright of making derogatory comments to fellow agents. [FRONTLINE, 10/16/2003] On March 21, 2000, Wright makes a formal internal complain