Swiss Authorities Block Accounts Allegedly Linked to Bin Laden |
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The Swiss authorities have frozen 24 bank accounts belonging to a Lugano-based company suspected of funneling funds to terrorists.
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The Swiss authorities have frozen 24 bank accounts belonging to a Lugano-based company suspected of funneling funds to terrorists.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office on Thursday confirmed it had ordered the accounts of the Nada Management Organization blocked on suspicion that the firm had possible links to Osama bin Laden, who was accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Swiss Radio International (SRI) reported that no details were given about the amounts frozen or the banks concerned.
The move comes after the United States asked Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and the Bahamas to block all assets belonging to the Nada Management Organization, which was previously known as al-Taqwa.
Two of the company's bosses were detained by police for questioning in Lugano on Wednesday, as part of a coordinated operation by Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein.
Another Nada official Ahmed Huber was questioned about al-Taqwa 's activities by Swiss officials in Bern before being released.
The Swiss federal prosecutor Valentin Roschacher said the investigation was likely to take several months. "We now have enough information to open an inquiry. We seized a lot of documentation on Wednesday, some of which is in Arabic, and it will take a long time to follow the paper trail."
But he added that the authorities did not have enough evidence to make any arrests.
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