Allegations of Saudi Princes Sultan and Turki Funding al‑Qaeda and Taliban via Charitable Channels

IN RE TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 785 Cite as 349 F.Supp.2d 765 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) plaint 9269-272; Burnett Complaint 19 354, 359; Federal Complaint 1480. Ac- cording to Plaintiffs, with respect to his alleged donations, “[alt best, Prince Sultan was erossly negligent in the oversight and administration of charitable funds, know- ing they would be used to sponsor interna- tional terrorism, but turning a blind eye. At worse, Prince Sultan directly aided and abetted and materially sponsored al Qaeda and international terrorism.” Burnett Complaint 1363; Federal Complaint 11 429-31 (alleging Prince Sultan knew and intended that the contributions he made to various charities would be used to fund al Qaeda and international terror- ism).?¢ 2. Prince Turki Prince Turki is currently the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the Unit- ed Kingdom. Ashton Complaint { 263. From 1977 until August 2001, he was the Director of Saudi Arabia’s Department of General Intelligence (‘DGI,” also known by its Arabic name, Istakhbarat). Ashton Complaint 1255; Burnett Complaint 1 343; Federal Complaint 1445. As such, Plain- tiffs allege he was or should have been aware of the terrorist threat posed by Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and the Tali- Laden and al Qaeda. See, e.g., Burnett Com- plaint 11160, 205, 229, 362; Exec. Order 13224. 20. Prince Sultan denies making any grants to Al Haramain and MWL and argues that con- tributions made to IIRO and WAMY were made strictly in his official capacity on behalf of the Saudi government. Further, he claims the four charities searched their records and confirmed that Prince Sultan did not make any personal contributions. These transmittal letters and government checks were included in Prince Sultan’s motion to dismiss the D.C. Burnett action. Judge Robertson found these documents had “limited probative value, [as they] lack[ed] proper foundations to establish that the affiants could have known the actual source of the moneys they received.” Burnett ban. Ashton Complaint 1256; Burnett Complaint 1348. Prince Turki allegedly met with Osama bin Laden five times in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Ashton Complaint 1257; Burnett Complaint { 344. At one of those meetings, which Prince Sultan also attended, bin Laden allegedly offered the Saudis the use of his family’s engineering equipment and suggested bol- stering Saudi military forces with mili- tants. Ashton Complaint 1253. Prince Turki is alleged to have close ties with an al Qaeda financier, Mr. Zouaydi, and is allegedly implicated in Mr. Zouaydi’s fi- nancial support of al Qaeda. Ashton Com- plaint 1241; Burnett Complaint 1345. Further, Plaintiffs claim Prince Turki met with members of the Taliban and, in 1995, gave the Taliban financial and material support. Ashton Complaint 1257; Feder- al Complaint 1144748 (alleging that, at the time Prince Turki provided support, the Taliban maintained a symbiotic rela- tionship with al Qaeda and thus Prince Turki knew al Qaeda would benefit from the Kingdom’s support). In July 1998, Prince Turki is alleged to have met with members of the Taliban and representa- tives of bin Laden and agreed to not extra- dite bin Laden or close terrorist camps in exchange for bin Laden’s protection of the II, 292 F.Supp.2d at 16. This Court has re- viewed these affidavits and agrees with Judge Robertson’s assessment. For example, one declarant who provided information regard- ing alleged contributions relied on his person- al knowledge of a charity’s records, yet he had only been in his position for two months. See Decl. of Saleh Abdullah Al Saykhan {i 2, at Decl. of Sara E. Kropf in Support of Prince Sultan’s Motion to Dismiss the D.C. Burnett action. As Judge Robertson pointed out, “‘the value of plaintiffs’ showing that Prince Sultan did give money to these organizations in his personal capacity, however, is no greater.” Burnett I, 292 F.Supp.2d at 16 (referring to Saudi press reports of Prince Sultan’s contri- butions). HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017850